


Picking Up Shattered Glass

by LilGray1326



Series: Shattered Glass Trilogy_Rewrite [2]
Category: The Vampire Diaries (TV)
Genre: Drama, F/M, Family, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-03
Updated: 2019-01-03
Packaged: 2019-10-03 17:49:30
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 24
Words: 250,116
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17288612
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LilGray1326/pseuds/LilGray1326
Summary: This is the sequel to ‘Shards of Shattered Glass.’  Kol Mikaelson needs only three things: to save Bonnie Bennett from dark magick, give her back her spirit magick, and win her heart forever.  But her friends keep insisting she use dark magick to save the day, the spirits wish to punish her use of dark magick by keeping her spirit magick from her, and his millennia-old reputation as a ladies’ man prevents her from trusting him with her heart.  How can he save Bonnie and win her love before her use of dark magick kills her and destroys them all?  Part two of a trilogy.





	1. Chapter 1

**____________________________________*****____________________________________**

**Picking Up Shattered Glass**

**Book Two in the Shattered Glass Trilogy**

**A The Vampire Diaries (TV) Fan Fiction**

**By Lilly Gray**

**____________________________________*****____________________________________**

**Purveyors of Plot Bunnies:**   Luner Kat and pyrodaemon

 **Betas** **/Pre-Readers** **:**   laurenj15, velezmunoz4, Luner Kat, pyrodaemon

 **Banners by:** Lilly Gray, except for the banner for Chapter 010, which the amazingly talented **Kittyinaz** created as part of one of her writing challenges.

 **Words:** 250,368

 **Chapters:** 24

 **Prompt/inspiration:  T** **his is the sequel to 'Shards of Shattered Glass,'** which was inspired by Cuinawen's story **'A Shadow in the Mirror' (https://cuinawen.wordpress.com/one-shots/a-shadow-in-the-mirror/),** and the prompt ' _I woke up to hear knocking on glass.  At first, I thought it was the window until I heard it come from the mirror again_. _'_  

 **Status:** Complete

 ** _Disclaimer_** ** _:_** I do not own The Vampire Diaries or any of its characters or locations.  They belong to Alloy Entertainment, Ltd., Bonanza Productions Inc., Warner Bros. Television, CBS Television Studios, Kevin Williamson, and Julie Plec, et al.  I'm making no money from this story, which I wrote just for fun, and I intend no copyright infringement.

 **Author's Notes:** So, this story picks up the morning after the end of Chapter 008 of 'Shards of Shattered Glass.' 

 

**____________________________________*****____________________________________**

**Chapter 001**

**I Might Resemble That Remark**

**____________________________________*****____________________________________**

**Sheila Bennett's POV**

**The Morning after Chapter 008 of 'Shards of Shattered Glass'**

**Friday, December 03, 2010, 6:35 a.m.**

**Kol's Bedroom**

**____________________________________*****____________________________________**

I've been spying on my friend Kol Mikaelson for about half an hour when his older sister and oldest brother, Freya and Finn Mikaelson, show up.  Apparently, when an original is daggered, or a witch is in a magickally induced slumber, they temporarily die and like all supernatural beings when they die, even a temporary death, they find themselves on The Otherside. 

Finn spent just under 900 years on the other side before briefly returning to life for less than a month, so when I arrived here on the Otherside on the night of December 12, 2009, the original was one of the first ghosts I met. 

Freya has spent all but a year every century on The Otherside and has gotten quite friendly with her siblings while here.  The three of us have spent quite a bit of time watching our loved ones together.  I even spent just under a year with Kol, and Rebekah, and about five months with Elijah. 

Most everyone grossly misunderstands the Originals.  Don't get me wrong, some of their actions sicken me, but I can also see that most of the time the situations the Mikaelson children find themselves in and their resulting responses to those situations are usually the products of other people.  For instance, their mother, who gives a bad name to all witches _and_ mothers everywhere, has caused multiple situations that her children reacted to the only way they could and still survive.

Kol, Rebekah, Elijah, Finn, and Freya explained a lot about their family, which has only slightly appeased my worry about Kol's plans for my unsuspecting granddaughter, Bonnie.

Now that I am dead I find that without Finn, Freya, and Henrik keeping me company watching paint dry would be more fun and entertaining than being stuck on The Otherside alone.  Finn agreed and told me, "I should know because I've spent countless hours through the centuries watching Niklaus paint and therefore have been forced into watching paint literally dry." 

The ancient ghost said that it usually drives home the fact that he's a spirit now, and no one he loves can see or hear him anymore. 

The youngest Mikaelson child, Henrik, approached us recently.  After insisting that I call him Henri he told us that he kept himself hidden from his siblings while they were daggered, but he decided once his oldest brother was dead for good that he would reunite with Finn.

When I was still a new ghost, I was surprised that Finn, Freya, Rebekah, Kol, and later Elijah began showing up while they watched Niklaus and Bonnie and her friends interact.  I've managed to grow friendly with all of them, though, and now that the oldest is permanently dead, Finn, Henri and I have bonded over the fact that we won't be able to interact with our loved ones until they die.

If Kol gets his way, Bonnie and I will never reunite, but I suspect that there are larger forces at work here.  

The good news is that because we are ghosts we can hear the thoughts of the living, so at least we're not stuck with questions and no way of getting answers. 

I still wish I could talk with the living, though, and be heard by them.  The fact that I can't doesn't stop _me_ from talking _to them_ even though they can't hear a word I say, or scream in the case of last night while Finn, Freya, Henri and I watched unable to help their brother who almost got himself killed. 

While we four wholeheartedly agree with Kol's assessment regarding Silas, The First Immortal, and despite how much Finn, Freya, and Henri want the ability to touch and speak with their siblings, none of us want any more of their siblings to join us here, so we were all screaming and wishing Kol could hear us. 

My beautiful baby girl burst onto the scene and saved the day or night as it were in just the nick of time. 

She effectively prevented disaster.  Bonnie made the right decision and helped Kol make sure that no one will ever find The First Immortal, or at least not the Gilberts that is.  Silas has remained hidden this long, so I expect that our chances are good that he'll stay hidden from anyone searching for The Cure provided no one goes looking for him too intently. 

Finn informed Henri and me that Kol has a contact that might be willing to hunt Silas down and use The Cure for its intended purpose, to turn the first vampire mortal and kill him.  I'll have to pray for Kol to think of it and then think long and hard about the risks involved in that.  Finn knows his brother well enough after all the years they spent on The Otherside together that he has no doubt that his younger brother plans to visit Atticus when he is released from custody, though that won't be necessary because Bonnie, thankfully, already killed my former friend.  I have no doubt though that if it came down to it, Kol would have made sure Atticus never found nor told another soul about Silas ever again. 

Kol's eyes flutter while he dreams about my granddaughter, who is far too young to be doing the things he's dreaming of doing with her.  I'm studiously avoiding his thoughts because I really don't want to see my granddaughter doing _those_ sorts of things even if it is just in the mind of her admirer. 

Kol moans and slowly begins waking from his dream.  Rolling to his side, he then bunches up his pillow, slowly blinking while he wakes up. 

Without Bonnie's interference last night, he'd be dead.  He wouldn't be undead like he is right now, and he wouldn't be temporarily dead like when he was daggered or even finally dead as in permanently dead and on The Otherside but rather some sort of body snatching dead. 

The fact of the matter is, when push comes to shove, Kol much prefers his own body over even Niklaus' despite his older brother's added strengths and fewer weaknesses, so I'm not surprised by his whispered, "Thank you, God, for sending Bonnie that premonition."

I smile.  Bonnie was amazing last night at the high school before Kol went to the Gilbert’s house and almost got himself killed.  Her one desire was to protect herself and those she cares for.  That desire was ever present even though she was scaring herself with her out of control abilities while Kol attacked her and she fought back. 

He boxed her in and then had a moment of doubt about killing her, in part because he genuinely considers me a friend from our brief time together on The Otherside, and he didn't want to betray our friendship by killing my granddaughter. 

That hesitation gave my baby girl the opportunity to fight back.  I'm not stupid.  He still could have killed her despite the incredible pain she caused him.  I've heard enough stories about Kol to know that he has ended dozens of witches who all ganged up on him and gave him aneurysms and broken bones all at the same time so he could have easily killed one witch and been done with it. 

However, my friend's thoughts told me why he hesitated, and by the time Bonnie fought back he already had another plan taking formation in his mind, so he let her momentarily beat him so he could go stop the Gilberts from finding Silas without having to harm my precious girl, for all our sakes.  He heals much quicker than she does, and we both were, and still are, quite confident that his harming her would set his plans back quite a bit. 

The plan was for him to let her flee, and then he would go and stop the Gilberts.  Then he planned to do everything in his power to make my granddaughter his mate.

Honestly, based on everything Finn, Freya, and Henri have told me about him and the brief time I spent with Kol on The Otherside, he might very well be the perfect match for my grandbaby.  If you believe his siblings, and I find myself believing every word they've told me, his history indicates that Kol will love and cherish Bonnie the way she deserves to be loved and cherished.

After her brilliant interference at the Gilbert's house, Kol is even more sure of his chosen path now than he was back in the high school.  She is incredibly intelligent, and she is observant, not to mention a quick thinker who not only can evaluate a situation and then quickly devise a workable strategy to bring her chosen outcome into being, but she also managed to get disputing factions to come to a reasonable arrangement that should allow all parties involved to survive peacefully. 

I know she doesn't realize just how remarkable she is either, but Kol plans to change that very soon.  Bonnie will know her value, and Kol will cherish her and she will know that too, but above all else my granddaughter will be his in every way.  Kol will also be hers, but the important part in his mind is that she'll be his, and he'll _never_ let her go.

**____________________________________*****____________________________________**

 

Kol thinks back on the previous evening after he left the Gilbert House, so I know he's already taken steps to make making Bonnie his easier for himself.  Finn, Freya, and Henri followed behind him when he left the Gilbert's house.  He smirked and mock saluted at their dumbfounded brother and then walked down the front path before he turned right on the sidewalk heading towards my granddaughter's house. 

I can see in his thoughts that he knew the location of her house because shortly after Esther tried to kill him and his siblings he did his homework on Elena and Bonnie and all their friends.  When he left the Gilbert's house, Kol walked a little faster than humans could but not so quickly that he would attract unwanted attention.

Once he arrived at the modest home my grandbaby shares with her father, he walked up to the front door and rang the bell.  My tall, middle-aged, well-built, if not slightly overweight, bald, former son-in-law opened the door and said, "May I help you?"

All Kol's plans rested on the off chance that compulsion might work, so he sent up a little prayer, _'Please let this work, God,'_ just before he caught Rudy's eyes and told him, "Invite me in and then stand still and silent until I tell you otherwise."

He released him, and Rudy barely blinked before he said, "Please come in."  I almost scratch my head at Kol's memory because the incongruity of the man who put Vervain in the town's water supply not drinking it himself is so absurd it's almost comical in its oddity.  Oh, it's helpful to my friend and his cause for sure, but very odd, none-the-less.

While he was speaking my selfish daughter spoke from inside the house, "Rudy, no."

The original stepped over the threshold.  When Abby came into view, he caught her eye telling her, "You will remain still and silent until I tell you otherwise.  Nod if you understand."

She nodded and didn't say another word.  Kol could obviously compel Rudy because he wouldn't have invited Kol inside his house if he couldn't compel him.  However, Kol needed to discover if he could actually compel Abby. 

He figured Bonnie would frown on his biting her mother to see if there was Vervain in her blood, so he instead walked through the house and into the kitchen where he began opening drawers until he found a metal skewer and then walked back into the living room where Abby was still standing motionless.  

I tend to agree with Kol that Bonnie would take a greater exception to his biting her absentee mother than she would to what he did next.  He handed my daughter the thin metal rod and then compelled her, "You will stab yourself in the eye with this skewer until I tell you that you can stop."

She spared no time lifting her hand, and although her hand shook and her lips and chin were trembling, she began slowly inserting the thin metal rod into her left eye.  She opened her mouth to cry out but made no sound when the metal touched and then breached the surface of her eye but continued to stab herself.  Kol waited and watched while she slowly continued inserting the skewer.  The fact that my daughter didn't cry out led him to believe that he was successfully compelling her.  I'm sure only his compulsion could keep her from crying out when the metal stabbed her eye because she has always had an exceptionally low tolerance for pain.  Despite not knowing her penchant for being a wimp Kol agreed.

She was holding the skewer so tightly her knuckles were white, and she was trembling uncontrollably making it clear even without my being able to hear her thoughts just how scared she was.  Frankly, it was rather poetic because my grandbaby has lived in fear her whole life due to my daughter's selfish inaction.

A few minutes later the skewer seemed to be in as far as it should probably go, so Kol then told Abby, "Pull it out a little and then push it in deeper," and she pulled it out maybe an inch and then began pushing it in even deeper.  Even without being able to hear her thoughts I can see her tense stance and narrowed unskewered eye in my friend's memory and know that it not only hurt deeply but that she was incredibly scared and desperately wanted to stop, but she didn't, or actually couldn't is the more correct term.  When he was convinced that it wasn't an act and he was actually compelling her, Kol told her, "Stop and remove the skewer."

She let out a deep breath when she stopped and removed the metal rod.  Kol took it and took the time washing it off and returning it to its spot in the drawer he got it from.  When he returned to the living room, he turned so that he was facing Rudy whose wide eyes and rapid blinking made me believe he would have frozen in shock even if Kol hadn't compelled him into standing still. 

Kol caught Rudy's muddy brown eyes again before telling him, "You will never ingest nor wear Vervain again though you will think that you have been regularly consuming it.  If you taste something that has it in it, you will immediately spit it back out."  His subconscious should recognize the Vervain even when he doesn't consciously sense it, so that should keep him Vervain free and completely compellable.

Because Kol and us ghosts all overheard Bonnie speaking with her father and Elena on the phone at the High School just before Kol attacked her we knew about the Vervain in the reservoir, so Kol asked, "Who put the Vervain in the water supply?  Was it you, or did you have someone else do it for you?"

Rudy's voice shook slightly, but he dutifully told him, "Liz supplied the Vervain, and I personally put it in the town's reservoir."

Kol nodded and continued compelling Rudy by saying, "You will also discontinue putting Vervain in the water supply though you won't tell anyone you've stopped and will actually lead the council to believe that you are still adding the Vervain to the reservoir.  Instead of putting it in the water you will bring it to my house whenever you're supposed to be putting it in the water supply, and then once you leave my home, you will promptly forget that you gave it to me and will believe that you put the herb into the water."

After pausing so my former son-in-law could repeat everything back to him, Kol finished with, "The only other Vampires you may invite into your home are my siblings, Rebekah, Elijah, and Niklaus Mikaelson.  You will not invite any other vampires into this house ever again even if they try to compel you to do so unless I tell you that you may.”

He pauses again and allows Rudy to repeat everything then continues, “You will be reluctantly supportive of any decisions Bonnie makes regarding non-dark magick or me, Kol Mikaelson, and my family.  You also will not directly nor indirectly advocate any harm to, nor personally attempt to harm my family or me, and you will no longer have any knowledge of any member of my family being vampires.  If anyone gives you back the information, then the moment they leave your presence you will forget it again."

My eyes are wide while I watch Kol's memories of the previous evening, but I suppose I shouldn't be surprised that he is so very proficient at compelling given all the practice I'm sure he's had through the years.  I smile when the memory of my good-for-nothing ex-son in-law repeats the last bit back to Kol.  Once the last word passed Rudy's lips, Kol turned to Abby and gave her the same compulsions save the ones about inviting vampires inside and his family being vampires then he added, "You will never attack, threaten, nor harm Bonnie in any way."

I nod because that was a wise choice on Kol's part.  Abby obviously has an invitation into my baby girl's home.  The fact that my daughter is only a little more than a month into being a vampire means that there is nothing to say that she won't lose her temper and lose control, so Kol's compulsion should keep Bonnie safe from her mother even if Abby gets angry and loses control. 

After my daughter repeated the compulsion back to him, Kol compelled them both, "When I leave, you will forget that we've met and that I was ever here or that I compelled either of you _or_ that I needed and now have an invitation into the house."

The moment they both finished repeating the compulsions back to him Kol released them and then hurried out the front door.

He ran back to the Gilbert's house at vampire speed hoping he would make it back before Bonnie left, so he sighed when he arrived and saw her car still parked on the curb with the driver's side door still wide open and the keys still sitting in the console from when she hurriedly ran into the house.  Kol closed the car door and then walked around the vehicle before leaning against the passenger side door, so he could wait for my grandbaby to exit the Gilbert's house.

Waiting, according to Finn, Freya, and Henrik not to mention Kol himself, is not a strong point of his, but Bonnie was only in the house for a few minutes.  He kept himself busy going over every detail of his plan and managed not to become too bored or restless. 

When she exited the house, Kol thought my baby girl seemed slightly skeptical of his offer of assistance, but we both know that she'll be taking him up on his offer to help her regain her natural powers.  The hole her magick left behind when it was taken from her is, if the Mikaelsons' are any indication, too painful and empty to resist the possibility of filling it back up.  That's why she got involved in dark magick in the first place:  She needed to fill that hole back up any way she could to stop the pain.

Niklaus and Elijah had already compelled Stefan, Damon, Tyler, Matt, and Caroline to never consume or wear Vervain.  They did this shortly after they arrived in town and Niklaus renewed the compulsions Elijah had placed when he returned to Mystic Falls the second time before Damon undaggered Elijah, though, none of the Mikaelsons have really had to make use of the foresight.  That foresight, however, will prove very helpful to Kol and his family while he executes his plan to make Bonnie his. 

When he finished speaking with her, Kol went and compelled all of my grandbaby's friends into not trying to physically harm himself or his family ever again, so they should all keep to the truce thus keeping Kol and the rest of his siblings from having to hurt any of them in self-defense. 

In the hopes of setting up the perfect scene for himself so that he can comfort my granddaughter Kol also compelled Damon so that the younger vampire will do his best to make my precious granddaughter cry this morning when they go remove Kol's compulsion to kill Jeremy. 

I can't say I'm pleased about his making my baby girl cry, but I understand why he did it.  He wants to give himself an opening to show her that he's not the monster her friends have portrayed him to be.

After Kol compelled most of her friends and gained himself an invitation into Matt's house, he revisited the Gilbert residence and compelled Jeremy and his annoying sister.  Niklaus and Elijah hadn't compelled Elena to remain Vervain free while she was human, which was fortunate for everyone involved or she would have remembered the compulsion when she finished the transition.  However, Niklaus did compel her to stay clear of Vervain shortly after she became a vampire, so he had already covered that base.  Kol did compel Jeremy last night though.  Because his becoming a hunter undid Niklaus' compulsion to remain Vervain free Jeremy, along with Bonnie, was the only member of their group of friends that the originals hadn't compelled or in Jeremy's case recompelled. 

When Kol got there, Jeremy was laying on his bed, fully dressed and on top of the covers.  His shirt still had blood all over it from when Kol chopped off his arms earlier in the evening.  Jeremy's eyes widened when he knocked on the door and then entered.  As soon as his eyes met Kol's eyes, the original grabbed hold of his mind and told him, "From this moment forward you will keep your word and adhere to our truce.  You will not try to harm anyone in my family nor advocate anyone else doing so.  If you hear of anyone else conspiring against us, you will call me and let me know, but when you hang up, you will forget that you called and warned me."

He paused so Jeremy could repeat his words to him then he told his former friend, "You will avoid Vervain.  You will not consume it nor wear it, though you will believe that you are consuming it regularly.  If Elena or any other vampire compels you, you will believe that Elena has been supplying you with your Vervain water and has secretly been giving you regular water so that she can compel you whenever she pleases."

I chuckle slightly when Kol remembers that part of the compulsion because honestly there is little I enjoy more than people messing with Elena Gilbert.  She is a selfish, self-absorbed brat who has caused my granddaughter's life to be in danger far more than it needed to be, not to mention most of the dark spells Bonnie has done were to help Elena.  The childish girl drives me batty, so I figure it makes us even.

Pausing again, Jeremy repeats Kol's words then Kol tells him, "You will be reluctantly and cautiously supportive of Bonnie and any decisions she makes regarding her use of non-dark magick or my family and me until we give you a legitimate reason not to be supportive.  Therefore, you will give my family and me a fair and honest shot at proving ourselves worthy of trust, friendship, and not being killed simply for what or who we are."

Jeremy, despite the compulsion, nodded while he repeated that part.  Clearly, his subconscious agreed with Kol's sentiment.

Elena was already snoring in the other room so after Jeremy repeated Kol's words Kol helped him get off the bed and then led him into the bathroom.  He helped his former friend shower off all the blood covering him where his arms had been and then change into his pajamas before leading him back to the bed.  The comforter had blood on it, so Kol took it off the bed and went to the closet Jeremy directed him to and got a spare one before helping Jeremy into bed and tucking him in. 

Just before he left Kol made Jeremy forget that he had helped him but told him, "You will forget that I just helped you, but you will know in your soul that everything will work out for the best and have hope for your future.  When nurses contact you tomorrow, you will be receptive to their help.  You won't ask who is paying for them or even think about it.  You will just be grateful for the help and not ask too many questions."

Jeremy repeated Kol's words to him and at the end added, "Thank you, Kol." 

Kol smiled at that because while it is rare for a person's will to assert itself like that while being compelled, it does occasionally happen if a person believes something strongly enough.  It's not enough to keep the compulsion from sticking in most cases, but they can still sometimes add their opinion.  This time Jeremy's thoughts on the matter are in line with Kol's compulsion, so he pats Jeremy on the shoulder gently and tells him, "You're welcome, Mate.  Consider it my payback for allowing your arms to be cut off which saved my life even if that wasn't your main goal."

Jeremy nodded so Kol told him, "You won't remember that I was here tonight after I left the first time and you won't remember any of my compulsions or even that I compelled you at all.  Now get some sleep and hopefully tomorrow will be a better, less traumatic day." 

Once Jeremy repeated his words, he released him and left the room and entered Elena's bedroom to compel her.  After waking the brat up, he compelled her so that she will also keep the new truce, regardless of how reluctant she might be about it.  Then he made her forget that he was there or that he woke her up and compelled her.

I doubt the self-centered Elena will easily forgive my granddaughter for helping cut off her brother's arms _or_ for Bonnie's role in preventing her from finding The Cure and becoming human again.  Kol obviously isn't really inclined to change that either.  The fact is Elena drives my ancient friend insane too.  However, he doesn't wish for Bonnie to lose _all_ of her friends only the ones who won't be accepting of him and his family and their future role in her life.  That’s why he not only compelled Jeremy to give him and his siblings a chance, but he gave Caroline the same compulsion.  She was nodding, too, which Kol thinks means he didn't really need to compel either of them into giving his family a chance, but he'd rather not leave it to chance, so he left the compulsions in place.

Once he was secure in the knowledge that none of Bonnie's friends will break the truce and that not a single one of them will have any memory of his ever being there, he walked home with a slight skip in his step because life was, in his not-so-humble opinion, finally looking up.

**____________________________________*****____________________________________**

Bringing his thoughts back to the present, Kol rolls over onto his back and looks at the other side of the bed and the clock sitting on the nightstand.  It's 7:05 a.m., which gives him plenty of time for a shower and grabbing a bag of blood before heading over to the Salvatore Boarding House where he will ostensibly remove all his compulsions from Damon Salvatore.

He flips the comforter off his body and hops out of bed absentmindedly scratching his chest while he walks naked across the room entering his bathroom. 

Despite being dead for a year, I’m still not used to seeing everyone naked, so I look up at the ceiling while he walks past me.  Freya also looks up at the ceiling.  Finn chuckles at both of us and says, "You would think that given the number of years both of you have existed that you'd both be used to nudity by now."

Shaking my head, I give a little giggle and just before I follow Kol into the bathroom I look at Finn and tell him, "Other than my daughter and my granddaughter, my husband was the only one I ever saw naked so why should I be comfortable with everyone walking around in their birthday suits?"

He just chuckles at my back before I think myself past the bathroom door that Kol just closed. 

Niklaus is nothing if not paranoid, so he prepared for the eventuality that the town's people might put Vervain in the water supply.  Therefore, when he was renovating the house, he had a powerful water filter installed to clean the tap water of all impurities before it enters their home. 

Turning on the shower as hot as he can stand it, Kol runs his hand through the stream of water to make sure that the filter has removed most, if not all, of the Vervain from it.  I smile.  His hand doesn't even blister, so it's diluted so much by the filter that it won't bother him.  He uses the bathroom, and then he steps up to the sink, and after washing his hands, he shaves his 5 O'clock shadow at vampire speed.  Then when his face is smooth and hair-free, he steps into the steaming shower where he quickly washes his hair and then his body before taking care of the result of his dream picturing my granddaughter joining him in the shower and doing things I'm not comfortable with my baby girl doing just yet.

I stay out of his mind and stare up at the ceiling while he pleasures himself, and a few minutes later he moans, "Bonnie, ooohhh."  Standing there leaning against the shower wall he takes a moment and catches his breath while staring at the water swirling down the drain.  The hot water continues to pound on his back and slide down his body causing the tension left over from the previous night's almost disaster to slowly loosen.

After his breathing has returned to normal, he rinses off and then steps out of the shower, drying off before he heads towards his closet so he can pick what he'll wear. 

Before she realized who he was, Bonnie's heart gave a little skip when she saw him in the hallway at the college the other day.  That means she enjoyed him in his green P-Coat. 

With his lady love's tastes in mind, Kol grabs a long-sleeved Henley that's light blue with dark blue sleeves and his dark wash jeans the woman at the store insisted he should get several pairs of.  He throws them on without bothering with underwear, and then he takes his green jacket that my granddaughter seemed so fond of off the hanger.  He carries it with him, and then he heads down the stairs entering the kitchen before getting a mug of blood.

He must play this very carefully.  He shouldn't have compelled Damon into making her cry, but there's nothing he can do about it now except make the most of the situation it creates and help her pick up the pieces. 

He agrees but thinks, _'If I'm careful and play it the right way, it will end up being advantageous for me.'_

Despite my displeasure from him manipulating her, I agree with his thought, and I know he has the best of intentions where my granddaughter is involved, so I choose to overlook his slight lapse in judgment.  After all, no one is perfect, not even Kol Mikaelson.

He barely tastes the blood when he drinks it, too focused on the variables he has no control over.  For instance, will Stefan Salvatore stay home from school to supervise the removal of his compulsion from Damon?  If it were him, Kol would stay home and watch.  Stefan's been a vampire long enough, and he understands how compulsion works well enough that he's likely to notice if Kol words himself in such a manner so that he only removes specific compulsions and not all of them. 

Frowning he thinks, _'Damn, I should have compelled the ripper into attending school today no matter what, but I didn't think of it, so that is an opportunity missed.'_  

I didn't think of it either, not that I'd have been able to tell him if I _had_ thought of it. 

He says a quick prayer, "Please, God, please don't let Stefan mess with my plans."

I look at the clock on the microwave while Kol rinses out his mug and places it in the dishwasher.  He has twenty minutes before he's expected at the boarding house, and it'll barely take him three minutes to get there on foot.  He puts on his P-coat and paces in the foyer for a few minutes before Elijah comes in through the front door rolling a suitcase behind himself.

Kol knows that as of 3 a.m. this morning Elijah was still in Pennsylvania, so he chuckles and asks the same thing I would if I could, "Brother, it should have taken you close to six hours to get here and yet it took you less than four.  Did you follow any of the speed limits to get here so quickly?"

Elijah laughs lightly and with a small grin tells him, "I may have broken a few traffic laws and may have even compelled myself out of two speeding tickets, but I felt it best that I return as quickly as possible."

Kol, Finn, Freya, and I all nod and smile at that before Elijah asks his younger brother, "What has you up so early and fully dressed not to mention pacing in the foyer?"

With an even bigger smile gracing his face, Kol quickly fills Elijah in on what will be happening today including his plans for my granddaughter.

Elijah nods while his brother speaks before he tells Kol, "Niklaus might have mentioned your plans when I spoke to him last night.  If you have need of me for anything, do not hesitate to ask.  I will assist you in any way I can."

Kol smiles and tells his older brother, "Thank you, I will take you up on that if I think of anything you can assist me with."  He pauses, and then an idea comes to him, so leaning slightly towards Elijah he asks him, "I just thought of one thing that would be incredibly helpful.  I planned to do it myself after I remove my compulsion from Damon, but it would be extremely helpful if you could search for and hire a nurse or two to help Jeremy out around the house.  He'll be stuck there 24/7 until he and his friends can come up with a cover story for why and how he lost his arms, and I'd hate for him to be stuck unable to do anything."

Elijah nods and tells Kol, "I have a contact that should be able to assist us in getting the appropriate help for young Mr. Gilbert."

Kol nods and shifts back and forth on his feet before he tells him, "Thank you, Brother."  He genuinely cares for Jeremy, or I know he wouldn't bother asking Elijah to find nurses for him.  Too bad Jeremy likely hates him.  Kol needs a good friend.  Maybe if his plan to capture Bonnie's heart works, she'll be able to talk Jeremy into giving his friendship with Kol another chance.  Jeremy thanking Kol last night gives me hope that all hope is not lost.

The incredibly impatient Kol looks at his watch while he finishes speaking and with a smile, firmly on his face he then tells Elijah, "Well, I should be going lest I arrive late after having cautioned Bonnie on the perils of making _me_ wait."

Elijah laughs and tells his ever-restless brother, "I may not know my future sister well at this point.  However, I think _she_ would handle waiting far better than _you_ would."

I chuckle and nod deeply before Kol grins and tells the prim and proper Elijah, "Hey, I waited for five whole minutes last night and didn't get into any trouble while I waited for her to finish dealing with Jeremy and Elena."

Elijah smiles at his brother in that, annoying if it's directed at you, 'I know everything' way and tells Kol, "I'm impressed, Kol, you actually managed to wait for _five_ _whole_ minutes?  That must be a new record for you because I've never known you to be able to wait _two_ minutes never mind _five_ without getting into _some_ sort of mischief."

I laugh loudly at that.  Kol just chuckles and responds with, "I might resemble that remark."

Elijah just laughs at him while Kol walks out the door.  Before he closes the door behind himself, he turns back at the last minute and tells Elijah with a broad smile on his face, "I'm glad you're back, Elijah."

He smiles and nods before he says, "As am I, Kol, and I'm grateful that Ms. Bennett saved _both_ of my brothers last night."

Kol nods again and then closes the door before speeding over to the Salvatore's home.


	2. The Right Thing

**______________________________________________________________________________**

**Chapter 002**

**The Right Thing**

**______________________________________________________________________________**

**Friday, December 03, 2010, just after 7:50 a.m.**

**Outside the Salvatore Boarding House**

**______________________________________________________________________________**

When we get to the Salvatore's house, my shoulders relax, and I let out a deep breath because we discover that no one except Damon is inside, and Kol silently prays, _'Thank you, God.  Please continue helping Your warrior and son carry out his plans and save Your young witch.'_

The Mikaelsons were Goddess worshipers when they were alive, but in the late 17th and early 18th century, they converted to Christianity.  I, myself, was born Christian and raised to believe that our witch abilities, our ability to tap into this power, is God-given and meant to allow us to do His good works while in this life. 

I know beyond a shadow of a doubt that Jesus wants Kol to help my granddaughter get over her dark magick addiction and assist her in regaining her natural powers. 

Although, that's only part of the reason Kol is going to help her.  The other part is the deep attraction and connection he's felt towards her since the first time he laid eyes on her the night Esther tried to kill all her children.  Well actually, he had seen her from The Otherside too and was quite taken with her, but I'm not sure he felt the connection to my baby girl then that he did the moment he saw her at the witches' house.

Kol's leaning against the brick wall of the boarding house playing with his phone and, among other things, checking today's weather forecast, when Bonnie pulls into the driveway in her little white car five minutes later.  I thought about spending the morning silently holding vigil over my granddaughter, but I thought I'd learn more by staying with Kol.  I'm not sure if that proved to be true or not, but it certainly was interesting.

Hmm, it's three minutes to eight, excellent.  Bonnie obviously took Kol seriously when he told her not to keep him waiting.  _That_ will bode well for both of them.

Finn, Freya, and I all chuckle because she immediately notices what Kol is wearing while he leans against the brick wall.  She thinks, _'_ Hello ** _,_** _he's wearing that green jacket he wore at the college the other day.  God, could he possibly be any hotter?"_ She silently giggles and tells herself, _'Yeah the answer to that is probably not.  The man is sex on two legs.'_

She parks the car and gets out before locking her doors.  My eyebrow raises at that.  Does she think someone is going to sneak into the Salvatore's driveway out here in the middle of nowhere and steal her car?

Kol is smiling at her while she walks towards him.  She almost smiles back but reminds herself that he's the bad guy, so she really shouldn't be smiling at him.  Each step she takes towards him causes the pain in her bones from the spell Abby's friends did last night to radiate throughout her body. 

Kol's smile turns into a frown a moment later while she continues walking towards him.  He clearly recognizes what her squinting means.  He files the fact that she's in pain into the back of his mind as something to get to the bottom of later.  Although, he thinks that the fact that the witches obviously performed the spell removing her addiction to the dark magick is the likely culprit and that she probably has a headache and a full body ache because of the spell the witches performed on her last night. 

Everyone he's ever known who had that spell performed on them complained the next day of the terrible pain.  The fact that she still managed to get here three minutes early says a lot about her and what she's willing to work through to still be efficient and on time.

I nod but tell Finn and Freya, "My baby girl is tough, though your brother is going to need to protect her if he genuinely wants her in his life.  Things are going on that neither of you knows of currently.  Things that contributed to her being able to get here on time despite how much pain she's in."

Frowning Finn asks the obvious question, "You're implying someone is hurting her, on a regular basis?"

I nod and tell the two Mikaelson ghosts, "I told my daughter when she got engaged to him that he was bad news, but she wouldn't listen."

Finn narrows his eyes when he asks, "Your granddaughter's father hurts her?"

Nodding I tell them, "I suspected a few times through the years, but I always second guessed my suspicions when nothing else indicated there was a problem.  I even asked Bonnie several times if he was hurting her.  I'm sorry to say, I believed her when she said he wasn't.  Now that I'm on the Otherside I've seen enough to know he hits her most days."

Finn's fists clench when he tells me, "My siblings and I have experience with a physically abusive parent, so they'll be able to help her.  Kol might lose his temper if he ever personally witnesses your former son-in-law striking her and kill him but rest assured that _none_ of my siblings will harm _her_ and they won't allow anyone else too either."

I nod and tell him with a smile, "I know.  I'd be very vocal if I objected to your brother's plans for my granddaughter.  It wouldn't affect the situation, but I'd still be vocal."

He laughs at that and then turns to look at Bonnie.  The witches clearly removed her addiction to the dark magick Atticus taught her.  Her aura no longer carries the dark smudges of black it had last night.  However, now there are big gaping holes in her aura, so it's still not balanced.  That means she doesn't have _any_ magick right now, which may or may not help Kol's cause. 

Kol's thoughts echo my own before I laugh and tell Finn, "It will probably help because she'll need assistance getting her powers back.  He's one of the very few individuals who will be willing to assist her with that because most witches would be reluctant to help because they'd feel she needs to be punished for touching the dark.  However, what they never realize is that by completely taking away her spirit magick they leave her half empty.  If her spirit magick is kept from her, then the only way she can fill that gaping hole back up is with dark magick."

Finn and Freya both nod the same time that Kol silently vows, _'I won't allow the darkness to swallow her the way it has so many before her.  I will save her.  I will **not** fail her the way I have others in the past.'_

I disagree that he failed his other friends through the years.  The decision to continue using dark magick was theirs and theirs alone, so Kol is not to blame for that especially because according to Finn, Freya, and Henri their brother was very vocal in trying to convince his friends to steer clear of it.  I agree with his sentiment, however, and I know that if there is anything within his power that will help Bonnie, he will do it, gladly and freely.

Just the knowledge that she has no magick at all is making my granddaughter's skin itch with the urge to touch the dark again.  Fortunately, she knows she can't, though, not without probably killing herself not to mention what she thinks The Spirits would do to me if she touches the dark again.  Kol's offer to help her get her magick back is therefore very, very tempting. 

My grandbaby ponders, _'Would it be safe to listen to him?  It'd be safer than touching the dark again, but safe completely?  The jury is still out on that.'_

I frown and tell Finn, "I watched over Bonnie last night until she went to bed, and none of my daughter's friends would tell my precious girl how to get her magick back.  They said losing it was her punishment for touching the dark, and she has to live with that."

Nodding Finn tells me, "The ironic part is I don't think they'd feel that way if they knew what it feels like not having your magick.  It feels as though there is a huge gaping hole in your chest and it just won't go away."

I nod and say, "She now knows that Kol understands because you were all witches before you were turned.  She realizes that that's a big part of why he's offering to help her get her magick back because _he knows_ how she feels." 

Finn and Freya's eyes widen, and I smile when Bonnie unknowingly continues my train of thought, _'I can't imagine how horrible it's been for all of the Mikaelson children having to spend 1,000 plus years with that hole that I haven't been able to deal with for just over a month or so.'_  

She feels half empty, and if she can't get her spirit magick back, then I can't guarantee that she won't touch the dark again just to relieve the pain and emptiness from that ever-present hole.

She doesn't want to touch the dark again though because that makes her feel dirty from the inside out not to mention the risk to me.  Finn smiles and asks Freya and me, "The question, though, is does she accept what she thinks is the possibly, probably, evil vampire's offer of assistance and hope it doesn't come back and bite her in the rear end or does she just try to avoid the dark and hope for the best?"

I smile and say, "If I know my baby girl she'll accept his help and then look for a way to help him back."

Finn smiles at that, but Kol is frowning while he watches her eyes narrow in pain with each step towards him.  The pain in her body shoots from her feet all the way up through her frame with every step she takes.  She figures the fact that she's in pain is obvious, so she surmises that his frown has to do with that rather than anything else. 

Finn tilts his head when she thinks, _'Really this is just like every other day only the pain is a little worse than usual and radiating throughout my entire body instead of just from certain muscles and bruises.'_   Finn nods at me when he realizes that I'm correct that my granddaughter is hurt enough that she has bruises and muscle aches on a daily basis. 

He surprises me by telling me, "I wish I could give Kol a warning, but that's impossible currently so even though I like Ms. Bennett there is really nothing you or I can do to make sure she's safe." 

I nod, and I know he would want to help my baby girl even if she wasn't responsible for saving two of his brothers' lives last night, he's just that compassionate.

Kol's eyes slowly travel over Bonnie's body from the top of her perfectly, but not overly, styled hair to the flowing gauzy top in multiple shades of blue that highlights both her beautiful, smooth, mocha skin tone _and_ her curves that Kol finds very pleasing and thinks would make any man with eyes drool. 

His eyes continue their perusal and follow her curves to her black skinny-jeans that highlight her womanly figure.  A blush breaks out over her face because she catches his eyes in mid rove and it's evident by the satisfied smile that breaks out across his face that he most certainly approves. 

She may be my granddaughter, but I can admit she is incredibly beautiful and catches the eyes of many men, but none as appreciative of the view as Kol Mikaelson is at this very moment.

Even the lightweight black jacket she paired her outfit with compliments her fantastic figure, though, I'm sure she's wearing it because the weather is cold this early in the morning in the first week of December and not just because it looks good on her.  Kol's smile widens when his roving eyes land on her silver high heels that give her a few more inches than what God gave her, but when she gets closer to him I realize that she's still much shorter than he is even if her shoes do make her slightly taller than without them. 

He's still leaning against the wall wearing an incredibly pleased smile, but the wind shifts when she's about 15 feet from him.  Wanting to smell her natural scent again after it had filled his head with such pleasant thoughts last night in the high school hallway when he was so remarkably close to her he takes a deep breath and gets a delightful surprise, which causes his eyes to widen slightly. 

A slow smirk spreads across his lips before he raises an eyebrow at her and asks, "Darling, _what_ have you been thinking about that has you smelling so delicious?  You smell like little bits of citrus and some woodsy flower that reminds me of this meadow near our village that was always full of little blue and white flowers.  Naughty thoughts of young Jeremy perhaps?"

Her face and her thoughts clearly say, _'Oh my God, he can smell_ that _?  Talk about embarrassing.'_   She quickly decides, though, that she's not going to tell him that it wasn't Jeremy she was thinking of but rather _him_ filling her head with naughty thoughts.  Her decision becomes firm after his eyes run over her body a second time and his smirk returns to his pleased smile.  Instead, she squares her shoulders and juts out her chin before she tells him, "N-no, I wasn't thinking about a-anyone _that_ way," 

Finn, Freya and I chuckle to ourselves, and so does Kol.  Freya's smile is wide when she says, "It would have been far more convincing if she had managed to say it without the stutter."  That's absolutely true, and my granddaughter's constricting pupils, temperature spike, and her heart skipping a beat when it picks up its pace just adds to our awareness.  Kol's responding smirk tells her that he knows she was thinking of _someone_ in an impure manner.

While he looks at her, she's turning bright red, and he takes another deep breath.  The almost Jasmine scent of her blood so incredibly close to the surface is mixing with the fruity scent and threatening to overpower his senses.  It's all he can do not to grab her and lick her all over because she smells _that_ good to him.  Still, he holds back the urge and instead gives her a cheeky grin before he asks, "Me then?"

Her brain shouts, _'How the hell?'_   Her jaw falls open just before she snaps it closed and scowls at him.  In her most stern voice possible she tells the grinning vampire, "Absolutely not," although the fact that his smile just gets wider tells her he thinks she's really saying, "Yes, absolutely." 

My ghostly companions and I laugh and have broad smiles when she silently grumbles, _'Damn vampire.  It's that jacket.  It's very flattering, and I'll never admit to anyone, not even Caroline, but I've had dreams about him in that jacket.  Okay, so I've had dreams about him in less too, but that's beside the point.  I find that jacket extremely attractive, and it has nothing to do with the insufferable vampire wearing the coat.'_

Meanwhile the spike in her temperature and the speeding up of her heart not to mention the constricting of her pupils again definitively contradicts my baby girl's words.  Kol is grinning so hard I fear his face may split in half and he's leaning towards her with an open posture that he obviously hopes invites her to reach out and touch him while he thinks, _'So she_ was _thinking of_ me _?  That's good to know.  Fortunately, that will help my cause now that I know for sure that she's attracted to me and not just my very flattering coat.'_

I laugh and tell the two oldest Mikaelsons, "His cause doesn't actually need any help.  My granddaughter will easily fall for him."  I narrow my eyes and tell them, "He better treat her the way she should be treated or ghost or not I'll find a way to end him."

Finn smiles gently at me and says, "He's only ever physically hurt one woman he was in a relationship with and that was only because he came across her right after finishing the transition and she had an open wound.  Even with his exceptionally short temper, he has never even considered hitting a woman if she wasn't an actual threat to him or his.  He also while not the most patient person in the world," I raise my eyebrow at that, so Finn pauses then shrugs and says, "Okay while not patient at all in most cases he _is_ very patient in his relationships.  He always lets the woman lead the pace, and he's, I believe the modern term is, emotionally intelligent.  He picks up on his partner’s emotional cues and addresses any issues that arise as soon as he's aware of them.  His short temper aside he's very in tune with his own emotions, too, and honestly, he was ahead of his time on that front and even now in this day and age he's more willing than most men to feel and then share what he's feeling.  Despite his penchant for losing his cool in the heat of the moment, he's always been able to have incredibly healthy relationships with the opposite sex, even more so than the rest of my family.  Everyone always thinks that is odd given his short fuse, but somehow, he manages to reign it in when it counts.  While I _have_ seen him throw things while in an argument with his significant other, it was never in her direction and he always told her he needed to leave and calm down when he thought he might do something he'd regret.  As I said he's never gotten anywhere close to raising his hand to a woman in anger, so rest assured, Sheila, your granddaughter will be safe with him, both emotionally _and_ physically, I guarantee it."

Freya nods showing that she agrees, so I nod back and smile at the picture their brother and my granddaughter make while Kol's grin transforms into a cheeky smile a moment later before he responds, "Whatever you say, Darling!"

My grandbaby's blush continues to deepen causing Kol's smile to widen so she grumbles slightly under her breath saying, "Insufferable, annoying, full of himself vampire.  How the hell does he even know what I was thinking about?  Is it a vampire thing or a Kol thing?  Either way, it's still _damn_ annoying."

He grins even when his future mate squares her shoulders and frowns before using an even firmer voice telling him, "We're here to free Damon from your _evil_ compulsion not for you to try to flirt with me."

Kol flinches ever so slightly at her use of the word 'evil.'  She catches it out of the corner of her eye and thinks, _'That's weird.  Someone who's evil wouldn’t care if someone else called them evil.  They probably would even revel in it.  Could we all be wrong about him?'_ She pauses her thoughts and then nods slightly to herself and thinks, _'I'll have to pay attention and see if there are any other signs that we might be wrong.'_  

She's inclined to think they're not wrong because in her mind he tried to kill Jeremy.  Although my very moral grandbaby begrudgingly admits that maybe he was right about Silas.  Still, everything she saw in her premonition wasn't a result of Silas rising but a result of Kol getting revenge on Jeremy and Elena for killing him.  She reluctantly concedes, _'And, yeah, okay, maybe they were in the wrong because Kol was really just trying to save the world, but does that really make up for all the people he's probably murdered in his long life?'_

Finn frowns and says, "I don't know what she saw in her premonition, but she has no idea the man my brother truly is.  That's true for all my siblings, but especially Kol.  There isn't a single death of an innocent that he's caused that he doesn't feel guilty about and wishes he could have a do-over for and prevent."

Freya nods and adds, "If he gets his way, though, she'll know everything there is to know about him, so she'll probably only have the negative opinion for a while longer if Kol hasn't lost his touch with the ladies."

Finn gives us a smile remarkably like his brother's cheeky grin and tells us both, "Nothing I've seen of him indicates he has, so I have high hopes."

Freya and I nod and look at my granddaughter.  She mostly used the word 'evil' to prove to herself that she's not attracted to the 'evil' vampire, or partly as a reminder for herself that he's supposedly 'evil.' 

Kol chooses to ignore her use of that word, and he smirks again before he tells her, "Oh I wasn't _trying_ , I actually _was_ flirting with you, Darling, but if you insist, we'll do our business first, and _then_ we'll get to the fun parts."

She works hard at deepening her frown, but the corners of her mouth twitch ever so slightly with the grin she's forcibly holding in while she walks past the original towards the door, and without looking at him she tells him, "There will be no fun parts, at least none involving _me_ anyway."

She adamantly tells herself, _'It doesn't matter how much I wish there could be fun parts.  Even if he's not completely evil, he's still my enemy, so I can't forget that, even if his smiles actually send butterflies flapping through my stomach.'_

She can protest all she likes, but I know now that she wants to get to the fun parts just as much as he does, and apparently he knows it too, so he grins again and after sighing dramatically he uses what is his most over the top put out voice and says, "If you insist, Darling."

Her lips twitch again wanting to lift into a smile and his resulting smile tells her that she's not as successful at hiding her grin this time even when she tells him, "I do."

I've been watching Bonnie and her friends ever since I died, even with me spending time with the Mikaelson's.  Therefore, I'm incredibly familiar with her group's habit of barging into the Salvatore's house any time they come over. 

Kol, on the other hand, had no clue the group of teens was so informal with the two younger vampires, so his eyes widen when my grandbaby opens the door without knocking.  Still, he follows her inside, and when she turns her head looking at him he raises his eyebrow at her and asks, "Are you in the habit of just barging into a vampire's home unannounced?  Because I'll be honest, I'm not sure what that says about your level of intelligence which up to this moment I had thought was well above average?"

The currently powerless witch smiles and giggles and I chuckle too.  Kol seems so scandalized by the idea.  A moment later, though, Bonnie loses her smile before she tells him, "First, Stefan is probably at school, so no one's here to let us in because Damon's locked up."

He frowns, and despite Bonnie's best efforts to keep it to herself, he notices the slight strain even she detects in her own voice and the stiffening of her shoulders when she says Stefan's name.  She's not as comfortable with him as she wants everyone, including the Mikaelsons, to think she is.  Kol wonders, _'What's the story behind that?'_

At about the same time my granddaughter thinks to herself, _'The first rule of battle:  Never let the enemy see you flinch.  If they see a weakness or dissension in the ranks, they will pounce and capitalize on that weakness.  And although I can't stand and don't trust Stefan the fact of the matter is we both want the same thing: for Elena to be safe.  So, I hope the image of a united front that I'm trying to convey to the world at large is sturdy enough to withstand Kol's scrutiny.'_

Finn frowns and says, "It's not.  Not by a long shot.  I really wish there was a way to warn him about the ripper.  He has some clue, but he doesn't know the whole story.  Kol, Freya, and I were haunting Niklaus and Rebekah back when they were friends with Stefan.  And when they ran from Mikael once more, we all followed long enough to see Niklaus dagger our sister.  Then Kol and Rebekah stayed with Niklaus while Freya and I ran back to Stefan's apartment and spent a few years mostly following him around, so we know all of his secrets.  Or at least the ones from 1921 to 1936 when his friend Lexi found him once more and got him off of human blood.  Of course, that only lasted until she sent him off to war a few years later.  Why she thought _that_ was a good idea is anybody's guess.  The ripper in him quickly succumbed to his desires for blood and torture, and the ongoing war allowed him to hunt and feed in the open without worrying that someone might figure out that there was a vampire in their midst."

Freya is nodding while her brother speaks, and when he pauses a moment, she continues the story, "When he finally came back in 1951 his incredibly patient friend had to spend the next three years getting him back onto the animal diet.  Honestly, if I had been in her shoes, I would have just killed him and been done with it.  Perhaps that's because unlike Lexi, Finn and I traveled throughout Europe and saw his exploits in the flesh for most of the war.  I think I speak for both Finn and me when I say we tend to agree with your granddaughter that the ripper shouldn't be trusted for any reason."

Finn nods deeply at his sister's words, so I nod, too.  However, Kol doesn't know any of the finer details of what his siblings witnessed from Stefan after he left Chicago.  He still picks up on Bonnie's tells though, so my grandbaby continues and pretends she doesn't notice his raised eyebrow and quirked lips.  She lowers her voice and leans towards him before she confides, "But in truth, none of us ever knock here.  In fact, Damon gets very put out if he has to get up and answer the door.  Plus, I think they'd think something was wrong if we knocked.  Only those not in our inner circle knock, usually when they plan to kill Damon, so he's understandably a little leery when someone knocks because the last three people who knocked had active plans to take him down.  Ordinarily, I wouldn't tell you that since technically you're our enemy too, but both of your brothers have already witnessed us just walking in enough that I figure they'd share the knowledge with you if it became relevant."

Kol is frowning even while he nods and tells the brunette witch, "They haven't shared this habit of yours with me and honestly if we were going to attack it probably wouldn't be here where you'd have more resources available to you.  However, Darling, I find myself unsettled just by the idea of someone barging into my home unannounced.  I think I value the distance that door puts between me and everyone else a little too much to allow just anyone to come and go without my knowing.  I would make everyone but my family knock first _and_ wait for me to let them in, and I'm sure Nik would literally tear off heads if someone were presumptuous enough to enter our house without first knocking and then being invited inside."

Bonnie nods.  She can see Niklaus ripping heads off for multiple reasons, but not knocking and just barging into his personal space is at the top of the rather lengthy list of reasons she would expect that reaction for.  Her face can't decide if it wants to smile or frown and she's sure that her face looks odd.  It sure feels strange to her.  Even still she tells him, "I can totally see him doing that." 

Kol just nods but doesn't verbally respond so after pausing a few seconds she tells him, "Follow me, Stefan's maybe at school, but either way, he wouldn't want us bothering him, so we can just head down on our own."

There's that question on his face again.  He knows that there's a story here, but she seems thankful that he appears to know that now is not the time to try to get it out of her mainly because Damon has likely been listening to every word they've said since she showed up.  She really doesn't want _anyone_ to know just how deep her well-placed distrust of Stefan runs, but especially not anyone who might tell Elena about it.  Damon is at the top of that list, so she tenses waiting to see if Kol will say anything about it.

He doesn't.  Instead, he smiles and in a blatant attempt to ease her mind about the possibility of Stefan being in the house he tells her, "My vampire senses tell me that other than a few rats in the basement Damon is the only other creature in the house with us." 

Her shoulders visibly relax.  She shudders, though, before she nods and says, "Ignoring the mention of furry little rodents I hope not to run into, those vampire senses are pretty handy.  Too bad they come with the need to feed on humans."

Kol nods back, and after he chuckles slightly, he tells her, "Don't worry, Darling, the little critters are far more frightened of Damon and me as apex predators than you are of them.  As for my being a vampire, it does have its downsides.  I'll give you that.  Although, sometimes the good sides outweigh the bad, especially now that I'm older and have more control over my baser instincts."

Her eyes widen, and she thinks, _'Seriously?  Downsides?  That's what he's calling mass murder and mayhem?  I can admit that there are some benefits to being a vampire though I can't really see many or really any of them outweighing the bad sides because the bad is so very severe.'_

He knows all of that, but he's learned to look on the bright side whenever possible, or he'd never get out of bed.  He continues telling her, "Unfortunately, except for a lucky few it can take up to three or four centuries for some vampires to get themselves under control.  Sadly, there are also some who _never_ get it under control."

She nods, and Stefan once more pops up in her mind.  The ripper has been a vampire for over 146 years, and he still doesn't have any real control over himself. 

Kol surprises her, though, when he says, "There are things the sire can do to make their progeny's control better from the start, but I think most either don't know enough about the species or just don't care enough to actually take those steps."

She nods once more with a frown firmly on her face, and she shifts back and forth on her feet.  Her mouth opens then closes, then opens and closes once more.  She wonders, _'Do I want to ask for specifics about the things a sire can do to make the transition easier on their progeny?'_

She shakes her head at herself then thinks, _'Probably best to keep my time with Kol as limited as possible, so no it's better I don’t ask for details.'_

She nods to herself once and then she turns and begins leading him down the hall before she stops and stomps her foot and thinks, _'But dammit I really want to know what things a sire can do to make the progeny's life easier!'_

Halfway down the hall Bonnie turns back and faces Kol before frowning slightly and asking, "I wasn't going to ask, but my curiosity is getting the better of me, so what can a sire do to help their progeny?"

He smiles and tells her, "For starters, Darling, you need to know that the age of the sire at the time they feed the person their blood effects the baby vampire's strength, speed, senses, vampire powers, and their control over not just their bloodlust but their heightened emotions too.  The sire can't really control how old they are though, so the first thing a sire can actively _do_ to help is to give copious amounts of their blood to the individual before their death.  The amount of blood inside the person when they die has a huge effect on the strength of the new vampire's abilities and especially their level of control.  The more blood that's been drunk, the stronger their abilities, even to the point that despite being a baby vampire they might surpass their sire in strength, speed, abilities, _and_ control."

That explains why Caroline has held her own and managed to beat Damon in at least two fights that my granddaughter is aware of.  I see in her mind while she replays watching Damon open his wrist five times to feed her friend his blood because her injuries were so severe. 

She wonders, _'He didn't say anything while he was doing it, but I wonder?  Did he know he would be making Caroline stronger?  No, how could he?  Our plan was for her to heal and stay human, so he didn't know she was going to transition.  Add in that he tried to kill her right after she turned and yeah, he didn't know she would turn, so it's just a happy coincidence that she had so much blood in her system when Katherine smothered her.'_

Finn frowns and tells me, "Brilliant, yet another reason to hate Katerina.  She killed the woman my other brother fancies."  He looks at me and asks, "Sheila, to your knowledge, does Niklaus know of Katerina's involvement in Ms. Forbes' transition?"

Pausing to really consider his question and the conversations I've overheard Caroline and Niklaus having I finally shrug and tell him, "I don't think she's told him.  I'm not sure he's spoken to anyone else who might know that bit of information about Caroline or how she became a vampire either, so my guess is no he doesn't know that Katherine essentially murdered Caroline.  He also probably doesn't know Katherine's reason either which was to provide Niklaus with a vampire for the Counter Curse that unshackled his wolf."

Finn sighs and says, "So basically Katerina did it to please my brother enough to keep him from killing her?"

I nod so he nods back and tells me, "Well for Elijah's sake I'll pray that Niklaus never finds out because I'm certain he will not react well if he finds out she killed Ms. Forbes and his reaction will be even worse if he discovers that he was Katerina's motivation for doing it.  No amount of Elijah pleading will save Katerina if Niklaus discovers the truth behind how Ms. Forbes came to be a vampire."

Kol could tell that Bonnie was lost in thought, so he paused to give her a moment.  Her eyes focus back on his about the same time I nod at Finn's words so Kol smiles gently and tells her, "That control part is critical because the more blood they have in their system the significantly easier it is to resist the siren call of any blood they might encounter."

He pauses, crosses his arms over his chest and then tells her, "Don't get me wrong, though.  Resisting it is still incredibly difficult, but it's significantly less so if they've had copious amounts of blood before they died.  Dying shortly after ingesting the blood is better too.  The longer between drinking the vampire's blood and dying means the less blood will be in the human's system when they die."

If her memories are accurate, and I see no reason to think they're not then that means Caroline's situation was the best-case scenario if she was going to turn.  She offers up a silent prayer, _'Thank you, God, for making Caroline strong enough to not kill that nurse.'_  My baby girl acknowledges that Caroline killed someone named Carter but that he's the only victim her friend has had that was because she lost control.  Her other few victims were from when the blonde was protecting people. 

Still, my granddaughter's eyes are wide open, and her mouth is in the shape of a little 'o,' but she's gently nodding while he speaks, so he continues explaining his point to her, "Then there is simply the sire being present when the new vampire wakes in transition.  It's been my experience that most new vampires don't know what's happening to them when they wake in transition." 

Bonnie was nodding, but she stops the motion and wonders how that is possible.  Frowning slightly, she tilts her head slightly before she asks "How do they not know?  Wouldn't most people know they had drunk vampire blood?  I mean Caroline didn't know, but that's because she was hurt and in a coma when Damon fed her his blood, but I guess I kind of figured that that was an exception, not the rule."

Kol nods and tells Bonnie, "I've healed humans and then compelled them to forget that they were ever hurt never mind that I fed them my blood and healed them.  Despite who and what I am I've had countless friends throughout the centuries.  Friends that I cared enough about to heal if injured or sick.  Friends that if they weren't witches, I also cared enough about to keep them ignorant of The Supernatural World around them.  Usually not knowing we exist is far safer for humans, especially if Mikael or his minions came looking for my siblings or me.  Mikael was far less likely to harm a human if he thought they knew nothing about us or what we were."

That makes sense to her, so she nods before he says, "I know you doubt that Nik cares about anyone other than himself." 

He's right about that.  She thinks the hybrid only genuinely cares about one person, himself.  At first glance, that's what it seems like, but according to all his siblings, those who know him best know it's quite the opposite.  He's so desperate for love that except for him daggering his siblings he usually does whatever he can to keep everyone else happy.  Furthermore, at least two of the occasions in which he daggered one of his siblings was to protect the one being daggered, and/or the ones _not_ being daggered.  Make no mistake though Mikael might have tried to kill Niklaus' capacity to care, he failed.

My grandbaby frowns slightly when Kol continues, "But it's the same reason he compelled young Stefan to forget he knew Nik and 'Bekah.  My understanding is that Mikael showed up looking for them and compelled Stefan to tell him everything he knew about them.  When your friend answered that he had no clue who Mikael was talking about Mikael left him be and didn't harm him even though Stefan himself was a vampire.  My brother knew that that was the easiest way to protect his younger friend, so he compelled Stefan to forget them altogether."

She always wondered why Niklaus would compel Stefan to forget.  She mostly figured it was so that Stefan couldn't lead Mikael to them, but that begged the question of why the hybrid didn't just compel him to mislead Mikael.  Now that she thinks about it, at the time Stefan was loyal to The Original Hybrid, so the much younger vampire wouldn't have willingly betrayed the siblings and would have allowed Niklaus to compel him to misdirect Mikael.  That's all true especially considering that Stefan thought himself in love with Rebekah.  Bonnie decides a moment later that Stefan's certain loyalty means Niklaus probably _did_ do it to protect his younger and much weaker friend like Kol is suggesting.  She thinks, _'Huh, that's weird thinking that Klaus would protect anyone other than himself.'_

Frowning Kol tells my granddaughter, "I've lost track of how many times I've compelled the knowledge of myself and my family from the minds of human friends to protect them.  I do however know of at least three dozen I did that to through the years who died a day or two later while my blood was still in their systems.  I found out soon enough to take most of them with me so I could be there when they woke but not all of them.  I had compelled the knowledge out of them, and it takes a few hours after the transition has begun before they would recall all compulsions placed on them before dying, so not even one of them had a clue what was happening to them until I explained."

Bonnie frowns and thinks, _'Okay, wow, that sucks.'_

Finn nods and says, "I know I witnessed it first hand on many occasions, but I agree with her opinion.  It was definitely not the preferred outcome, but it couldn't be helped if he wanted to save his friends from whatever injury they might have sustained not to mention the threat of Mikael's wrath." 

Kol's not done though, so she nods slightly when he says, "My understanding is that that happens more often than not.  I mean there are those whom a vampire cares about and might turn for that reason like my brother Finn and his wife, Sage.  _Those_ individuals know in advance what's going on, but they are, I believe, in the overwhelming minority.  Plus, once I got control over my bloodlust, I'd feed and then heal my dinner so that they'd be healthy and whole with no sign of what had happened."

I laugh when my baby girl's hazel eyes widen again, and she pulls up short at that last bit.  Yes, Bonnie, he heals his dinners.  I know you wouldn't guess it to look at him but it's true.  Her green eyes widen even more when he tells her, "I usually went for those already injured or sick so that I could heal them as my way of saying thank you for feeding me."

The smile on my face is genuine.  Kol has come a long way from the young vampire I'm told would lose his cool and then come back to himself to find himself surrounded by dead bodies.

His words, however, don't fit with the image my granddaughter has of the standard behavior that she would have pegged him for.  He's still frowning slightly when he says, "I'm sure though that there were some of them who given the times they were alive in probably died with my blood in their system, and I had no way of finding out in most cases."

She's nodding again, and she thinks everything he's saying makes sense and has the ring of truth to it.  He really isn't lying either.  Kol continues by telling her, "So if the sire is present and can help the new baby vampire then that helps much more than you would think.  Dying is traumatic which I'm sure you can imagine."

Even though he can't hear me, I say, " _Really_ , Kol?  Dying is traumatic?  You think?  Talk about an understatement!"

Finn and Freya both nod and chuckle, and Bonnie's thoughts show she agrees with my sentiment.  However, despite her shaking her head slightly the understatements keep coming because next he says, "Knowing what's going on helps tremendously and so does having a guiding hand in the very beginning.  Guidance can make or break a new vampire.  Once that first kill happens most baby vampires suffer such great guilt that they can't resist the urge to turn off their feelings.  Without emotions controlling their bloodlust is much more difficult, and, honestly, most don't even bother trying to control themselves once they flip their switch because they don't actually care who they kill or how many die by their hand."

Bonnie's thoughts show how willing she is to admit she's in debt to someone she doesn't like or trust when she thinks, _'As much as I hate to admit I owe Stefan Salvatore **anything** , he still saved a lot of lives when he took Caroline under his wing and taught her how to be a non-evil vampire.  I'm not stupid.  I know Caroline would have flipped her switch eventually due to the guilt if Stefan hadn't taught her how to be a vampire without hurting anyone.  Once she realized she could be like Stefan pretends to be then she grasped onto that goal, and nothing would sway her from it.  Honestly, I think she does a much better job of not being evil than Stefan does.'  _My companions and I all nod at that thought.

Kol frowns and Bonnie frowns back while he tells her, "I know what it's like to wake up not knowing what's happening and having that irresistible thirst that just won't go away no matter how much water you drink, so I've always done my best to be there whenever one of my progenies entered transition.  Unfortunately, it wasn't always possible, and I've run into a few of them decades or centuries later.  They were incredibly angry with me when they recognized me until I explained my story and convinced them that if I had known they were in transition, I would not have left them to their own devices.  Fortunately, they were old enough and experienced enough when we met again that they always could sense that I was speaking the truth, so they forgave me for not being there with them, and I did my best to teach them whatever they hadn't already figured out on their own.  Anyway, learning how to feed without killing and having someone with you who has been there before helps more than you can imagine."

Bonnie is apparently still having difficulty accepting that he feeds without killing whenever possible or that he then supplies his blood to his dinners to heal them, but she thinks, _'I don't think he's lying so I might have grossly misjudged Kol in at least that respect.'_  

Finn smiles at me and says, "She really has misjudged him.  Nothing he's said today has been untrue."

I nod and tell him, "She may have misjudged him now, but once she gets to know him she'll see that he is, in fact, telling the truth.  Atticus aside she's a particularly good judge of character, especially when she has all the facts.  If your brother opens up to her, she'll see the truth and open her heart to him and at the very least offer him her friendship."

Finn nods just before Kol finishes his explanation by telling my granddaughter, "There are a few other things that can help too, but those are the main things that make a vampire less likely to be completely controlled by their baser instincts."

Bonnie's hazel eyes are wide, and she doesn't say anything for a minute then a thought occurs to her, so she frowns and asks, "Wow, um, would an older vampire being present prevent someone from becoming a ripper?"

I'm not sure if Kol knows enough about Damon and Stefan's histories and specifically Katherine's involvement in their lives and their subsequent transitions that he realizes that she's asking about Stefan without coming out and saying his name.  Kol's chocolate eyes are wide, and he frowns before asking her, "You mean young Stefan, specifically?"

I guess he does know enough about that situation.  She nods at him, so he shakes his head and tells her, "No one actually knows why a vampire becomes a ripper.  The good news is it's incredibly rare.  Say, for instance, that there are two million vampires walking the earth right now probably only twenty to thirty of them are rippers, and that number might actually be rounding up a bit, especially because the rest of us tend to kill them to prevent them from revealing our existence to large populations of humans."

She smiles ever so slightly and exclaims, "Well, thank God for small mercies." 

My grandbaby's shoulders noticeably relax at that piece of information, so Kol smiles and places a gentle hand on her arm before he continues telling her, "Regarding what causes the phenomenon, no one has been able to ascertain that.  I mean think about it.  Damon and Stefan turned the same night by Katerina's blood and died the same way moments apart from each other.  My understanding is that Stefan had more recently had her blood compared to his brother who hadn't had her blood in about a day.  Stefan also finished the transition first, so that would imply that the sire, their age, the means of death, or a short transition have little to nothing to do with whether or not someone becomes a ripper.  Furthermore, the mere fact that he had more recently had Katerina's blood means that he should have had better control than Damon, but the opposite occurred instead."

The question, _'How exactly does he know so much about Damon and Stefan and does that bode well for us?'_ is written all over Bonnie's face.  She frowns at the idea that the originals know so much about the Salvatores, but she's also nodding because his words make sense even if she does think, _'It's pretty scary that Kol knows so much about people who are on my side of our war.'_   He doesn't seem to notice her alarm, although, I know he does. 

I can also see in his thoughts that he and Finn watched Katherine while she was in Mystic Falls in the 1860's, so he saw everything first hand and knows more about the things that occurred between them all than even the Salvatores do.  Still, he continues the lesson without mentioning that he watched the three of them from The Otherside, "According to Nik and 'Bekah, Stefan was immediately out of control while Damon was immediately under control.  Then Stefan turned off his emotions and completely lost what little control he had.  His brother, on the other hand, I believe took a while to turn off his emotions, and even with them off everyone I've spoken to about him says he was incredibly controlled in terms of his bloodlust."

My grandbaby swallows audibly, _'Wait, he's actually talked to people about the Salvatores?  No wonder he and his siblings always know what we're going to do before we do.  They've studied us, which I suppose makes sense.  They didn't get to be over a thousand years old by not doing their homework on their enemies.  It's the same reason Damon and Ric scoured Isobel's research for days on end looking for anything she had on the Mikaelsons that might help us.'_  

Kol saw her eyes lose focus again, so he paused once more to allow her to have her thoughts.  Once her eyes refocus, he clears his throat, so she focuses on his words when he says, "His impulse control is incredibly out of control more often than not regardless of whether his switch is on or not, but his bloodlust is always highly controlled."

She nods more deeply when he mentions Damon's lack of impulse control.  Despite the serious and incredibly scary subject matter, Kol's lips tilt up slightly before he tells her, "Now, I'll take it one step farther and point out that they're blood brothers and grew up in the same location with the same parents.  By all accounts, Stefan had a much better relationship with their father than Damon did, and Stefan was the one less likely to lash out, get into fights, or harm someone, so it's interesting that he's the one who wound up being a ripper."

Her lips thin out without turning down into a frown, but she nods when he tries to give her what little actual facts he has about rippers, "I can tell you that I've met just over a dozen or so rippers in my 1,009 years since becoming a vampire.  I will admit that after getting the most information I could get out of them about their lives and how they became vampires I killed all 15 of them because they were just far too out of control and killing way too many people.  More often than not the locals were beginning to notice the large piles of bodies they were accumulating at the ripper's figurative feet, so I would make sure that pile stopped growing."

She once again wonders, _'That sort of thing bothers him?  I mean I know he's implied it multiple times today, but I still have a hard time believing it.  Klaus called Kol their family's 'Happy Homicidal Maniac' last night, which implies that out of all the Mikaelsons Kol would be the most likely to kill and not think twice about it, but what he's saying now implies that it's the exact opposite of what Klaus' words indicated.'_  

I turn and look at Finn, "I meant to ask last night.  Why did Niklaus call Kol your family's 'Happy Homicidal Maniac' if it's not true?"

Finn shifts his shoulders and tells me, "Niklaus usually calls him that when he's displeased with Kol.  While historically Kol was the most likely to lose his temper and therefore to create an unplanned bloodbath the fact is that out of all my siblings the deaths and pain he's caused his victims and their families weighs on my little brother's mind and heart far more heavily than it does any of our other siblings.  Niklaus calls him our 'Happy Homicidal Maniac' when he wants to strike out at Kol emotionally.  Usually, he calls him that after Kol has lost his temper and killed everyone present.  It was Niklaus' way of showing his disapproval of our baby brother's lack of control.  Though, I think last night flummoxed him so much that it just slipped out without him meaning it." 

I nod, and we watch Kol frown before he tells my granddaughter, "I've heard of perhaps an additional two more dozen rippers through the years.  All of them, plus the ones I actually met, were like Stefan when they were human, incredibly kind and gentle with very little fight in them.  When the transition happened, they lost all control and then turned off their switches becoming the stereotypical sadistic monsters of vampire lore."

Her eyes are open even wider now, and she just stares at him while she slowly blinks and processes what he's just told her. 

Finn shifts on his feet slightly and tells me, "I've seen all the rippers Kol has seen while I was daggered and he was undaggered, and probably most of the ones he's heard of, several of which we saw together while on the Otherside, and I agree with his assessment of them.  Often if he weren't daggered with me and heard of one, I'd leave him and go think myself to the location of the ripper.  While my family has done some horrendous things over the last ten centuries, I've never seen anyone be so blood hungry and ruthless like some of those rippers were.  If I slept, I'm sure I would still have nightmares about what I saw from those monsters even all these years later.  Hell, just Stefan Salvatore's escapades would be enough to induce nightmares."

I nod, and Kol gives Bonnie a moment to understand that they all were like Stefan.  She wonders, _'Is that significant that they all were kind and gentle?'_

Kol seems to move on when he tells her, "I used to think it was a matter of the individual having an inherently addictive nature.  However, I've met tens of thousands of vampires in my long life, and a good portion of them were alcoholics, drug addicts, sex addicts, or what this age calls compulsive gamblers before becoming vampires, yet none of them were rippers.  Therefore, it can't be that, although all the rippers I've heard of probably had addictive personalities but weren't acting out the addictive impulses before their deaths, so perhaps it has something to do with resisting the urges while human.  Our increased emotions might account for them no longer being able to resist the urges, but if that's the case then why don't the active addicts also become rippers?"

Finn frowns deeper and says, "That's a good question, and it's actually been bothering me since my family met our first ripper.  Sadly, I highly doubt we'll ever truly know the answers to our questions regarding rippers."

I just nod, but don't say anything.  Kol pauses and gives Bonnie another minute to process his words, and then he tells her, "There are very few rippers willing to talk about that sort of thing, though, and I've always had to resort to compelling information out of them, so we may never know what truly causes the phenomenon.  Honestly, if Stefan weren't such a sanctimonious arse, I'd suggest he discuss it with Elijah.  My brother has done a bit of research into the phenomenon through the years, but Stefan rankles mine and Elijah's good mood enough that I won't subject my own brother to the younger Salvatore if I can help it."

Bonnie is back to nodding.  Clearly, she wouldn't subject her worst enemy to Stefan if she could help it.  He smiles wider, though, and tells her, "If you wish, though, I'll ask Elijah if he'd be willing to discuss it with Stefan, but only if that's what you wish."

Her eyes narrow into little slits, and she just stares at him with her mouth thinned out into two grim lines again.  She wonders, _'Why would it matter if_ I _asked him to do it?  Maybe he's angling to pay back the favor he said he owes me quickly and easily.'_

Still, she shakes her head slightly and frowns before saying, "I don't think Stefan really cares enough about the why for me to subject Elijah to him without some guarantee that it would actually help the situation.  I'm also sure Stefan wouldn't believe a single word that might come out of your brother's mouth even though I am unaware of Elijah having ever lied to any of us.  Oh, he kept the knowledge that Klaus is his brother close to the vest for a while, but he never actually lied to any of us.  He even made sure not to suggest Elena would survive the ritual until he got to know her and helped John and me find the spell I used to bring her back to life, and even then, he gave no guarantees that it would work."

He nods when she pauses, and then she once again shakes her head gently and tells him, "Anyway, thanks for offering.  I don't really see the point.  Unless Damon wants to pressure Stefan into talking to your brother about it, but then poor Elijah would be stuck with Stefan and his attitude doing something neither of them actually wants to do."

I chuckle at that.  I have never once heard anyone call the prim and proper Elijah 'poor'.  I'm not talking about his finances either.  Although he's never been financially poor either, no one has ever used the word poor to describe any aspect of Elijah or his life.  The fact of the matter is, he's never been 'poor' anything.

Kol grins at her characterization of his oldest surviving brother and nods before telling her, "If you or Damon change your mind, you just let me know, and I'll call in a favor and get Elijah to cooperate, and I won't count it as the one favor I owe you either."

I smile.  He's positively smitten if he's giving out free favors.  She frowns and tilts her head to the side before asking, "Not that I'm complaining but why wouldn't it count towards the favor you said you owe me?"

Kol smiles gently and tells my grandbaby, "I wouldn't count it because my brother and I are interested enough in the phenomenon that having the opportunity to speak to a ripper, however unwilling he might be, would make it more of a favor for Elijah and me than one _I_ would be doing for _you_."

She frowns again but then nods and tells him, "Oh, okay.  I guess that makes sense."

Nodding back, he then extends his arm down the hallway and tells her, "I believe we have an appointment with Damon to attend."

She nods and says, "Right," before she turns back around and finishes leading him down the hallway to a nondescript door and then down a flight of narrow stairs into an equally narrow corridor.

I follow them down the stairs, but I hear a giggle behind me, so I turn, looking at the youngest Mikaelson.  Smiling I ask, "Finally got rid of her?"

Henri nods and tells me, "Yes, I finally told Esther I forgive her for using a Witches compulsion on Finn from the day she gave Freya to Aunt Dahlia and was old enough to understand her words until this last time they were all together."

I nod but ask, "Do you?  Forgive her I mean?"

He vehemently shakes his head, "Not a chance.  I know her well enough to know that if she ever gets her way and manages to resurrect them both that she'll compel him the first chance she gets to make him loyal to her instead of our siblings, again.  However, I prefer to know what exactly she's up to.  She's not likely to tell Finn what she's planning while he's not under her compulsion, and she knows you and Freya don't trust or like her, so I don't think she would trust either one of you.  That leaves me, so I've decided to play the cute, gullible, youngest son and pretend to forgive her.  That way she'll keep me in the loop." 

He turns and looks Finn right in the eye and tells him, "Make no mistake, Brother, if she gets her wish and brings the two of you back then you should not hesitate and rip her heart out before she can get the words to the compulsion out of her mouth again."

Finn nods and tells his brother, "That's probably a good plan to have.  Don't worry.  I won't hesitate.  While she's our mother protecting the others is our duty."

Henri nods slowly but frowns and asks, "Is it?  According to mother they kill and don't think twice about it."

Shaking his head Finn walks up a few steps until he's standing right below his brother and puts his hand on Henri's forearm, "I've been watching all of them since the moment I was first daggered and then again once I died.  While it's true they have all killed countless people, it is also true that they all feel enormous guilt.  You've been watching them since you died too.  You can hear their thoughts.  Do you think they're remorseless killing machines?"

He shakes his head, "No.  They have morals, albeit slightly skewed morals, but morals all the same, and they _do_ feel remorse."

Finn smiles and nods before telling his baby brother, "Then they're worth saving.  Besides, I have the sneaking suspicion things are about to change for the better for our siblings.  She’s going to induce them into doing the right thing more often than not because if Kol gets his way, and you're familiar enough with his ways to know that he usually does, they're about to get a steadfast moral compass by the name of Bonnie Bennett.  She's going to save our family."

Henri nods again and with a smile firmly on his face he says, "I hope you are correct, Finn."

He smiles back and tells his little brother, "Oh I know I am this time."

We both smile and I tell Henri, "My granddaughter will demand that they not hurt innocent people if they want her in their lives.  Her powers of persuasion are on par with Kol's, only she usually uses her unconditional love and support to get people to choose to do the right thing on their own, sort of a lead by example way of doing things."

Henri smiles and says, "I'll pray she does just that."

I pat his shoulder, and then we turn and follow Kol and Bonnie down the rest of the steps into the basement.


	3. Nudging Everyone

**______________________________________________________________________________**

**Chapter 003**

**Nudging Everyone**

**______________________________________________________________________________**

**Friday, December 03, 2010, just before 8:20 a.m.**

**The Basement in The Salvatore Boarding House**

**______________________________________________________________________________**

Bonnie's heels click-clack on the cement floor of the basement when she walks to the locked door that is keeping Damon from going and killing Jeremy.  Damon's thoughts clearly tell us that Jeremy called and warned Stefan, who informed his brother, that their side has come to a truce with the Mikaelsons.  Stefan also told him that Kol was going to come to remove the compulsion he placed on him, so he at least knows why they're here.  Even still he snidely thinks, _'Yeah, I'll believe it when I see it, but I know what the pretense is at least.'_  

Henri frowns and asks me, "He does not trust our family to keep its word?  Even after all the examples of how we never break our word, he still doesn't trust them to do what they say they will?"

Nodding I explain to him, "I think it's because he and his group are always so quick to break their word that they assume everyone else is the exact same way most of them are.  I think Bonnie, Caroline, and Jeremy are the only ones who not only don't break their words daily but go out of their way to avoid doing such a thing."

He nods deeply and says, "I know I've watched too, but I didn't think of that.  It makes sense, now that you've said it, that they would expect others to behave how they behave.  His own deviousness and willingness to stab people in the back without any warning has made him a distrustful man."

I nod at about the same time Bonnie steps to the side of the door.  Damon turns his head looking at the window just before she waves her hand towards the window and tells Kol, "Have at it, but no funny business or I'll fry your brain and break your bones like I did yesterday."

Henri giggles when Kol clucks his tongue at her, brings his hand to his chest over his heart, and tells her in what is probably his most pained voice possible, "Darling, I'm hurt that you would lie to me.  I can clearly see that your aura is clean of all that dark shit, but it's still not balanced, so I know that you don't have _any_ magick to fry my brain with.  Never the less, I gave my word, so I will only do what I said I would, no funny business today."

Now I chuckle again.  He'll keep his word.  He won't do any funny business _today_ , but he made the promise so freely because he already did his funny business last night before she warned him off.  He and his siblings may all keep their word, but their family either is extremely specific or incredibly vague when giving it so that they can later dance right through any loopholes that specificity or vagueness might provide them.

Damon's eyes widen though when he hears that Bonnie doesn't have any magick right now.  He can't believe that she still agreed to meet with Kol where he can kill her and Damon without anyone being able to stop him.  He wonders, _'Has she completely lost her mind?'_

He decides a moment later, _'I need to play it like I'm not worried.'_

He calls out, "Some of us are actually trying to sleep here, so could you take the cutesy flirting and the speculation about my very annoying little brother and his out of control feeding habits and move them elsewhere, preferably somewhere that's not my house?"

My granddaughter stands on her tip toes and looks at Damon through the window.  Finn whispers, "My God, she really is a tiny thing, isn't she?  Kol could squash her without even blinking.  I mean I know he wouldn't dare.  She's too valuable to him.  He wants her forever and wouldn't dare risk jeopardizing that plan by harming her _or_ by allowing anyone else to do it, but she's tiny compared to him."

We all nod, and we can hear that Kol is observing the same thing his brother just did, _‘God she’s tiny.  Perfect size for me, but oh so vulnerable to those who might wish to do me and mine harm.’_

He sighs to himself and thinks, _‘She’s a warrior, though, so no matter how badly the_ _caveman inside me wants to lock her up in a tower and protect her I can’t.  It would stifle who she is and cause her spirit that I appreciate so much to wither and die.  No, she’s a warrior like me so I’ll just have to take all the steps I can to ensure her continued survival without trying to keep her from protecting herself and those she cares about.’_

Kol nods to himself at the same time Bonnie puts her hand on the window sill to steady herself while she balances on her tiptoes before she says, "Kol promised he'd remove the compulsion he placed on you.  So, stand up and come make eye contact so that we can get this over with, and I can go to school."

Mine and my companion's shoulders shake slightly while we chuckle at her bossing a vampire around with so little care for her safety especially because Kol has already acknowledged, out loud no less, that she doesn't currently have _any_ magick… I suppose that door gives her the illusion of safety.   Kol's silently chuckling at the same thing before his chuckle becomes audible when without moving a muscle Damon asks from his spot sprawled out on the floor, "And we believe him?"

Henri shakes his head and tells his two oldest siblings and me, "You'd think even with their group's penchant for betraying others that they'd be able to recognize that that's not how our family works.  He will remove the compulsion to make Damon kill young Jeremy, and while he probably won't remove all his compulsions, he will be doing exactly what he said he would.  Just like each of our siblings have since they all arrived here.  He really needs to pay closer attention.  He shouldn't be asking if Kol is going to remove the compulsion, but rather he should be asking if that's the only compulsion that's been placed on him and whether or not those other ones will be removed too."

I chuckle again and ask him, "Were you sneaking peeks while dealing with Esther?"

He shakes his head, narrows his eyes, and asks, "No.  Why?"

Grinning from ear to ear I tell him, "Kol visited all of my granddaughter's friends last night and compelled them to keep the truce, but he also compelled Damon to try to make Bonnie cry this morning so that your brother has an opportunity to show his softer side."

I frown and then say, "I don't know that I approve of him making my baby cry on purpose, but he already regrets it.  However, he also knows there's no way to undo it without giving away that he compelled Damon to remain Vervain free even after today, so I imagine Kol is going to word himself very carefully so that he only removes the order to kill Jeremy and not the others.  Then when Damon follows the compulsion to make her cry Kol will comfort her and based on everything I've seen of him both here on The Otherside and on the living side of the veil I highly doubt he'll set up another situation like that ever again."

Finn and his siblings nod and Henri says, "That sounds like our brother."

Bonnie nods at Damon's question and just looks at him lying on the floor for a minute.  He's still in the same clothes he wore when Kol compelled him in the walk-in freezer.  There is a tear in his shirt, and he's bloody and in need of a good shower from all the dirt on him that he's gotten all over him by laying on the dirty floor of the cell for a few days.

Bonnie's eyes narrow when they spot the bloody hole in his shirt however she doesn't comment on it and instead a moment later she ever so slightly squares her shoulders and nods to herself before she then says, "Jer and I have made a peace treaty with Kol and his family.  We leave them alone, and they'll leave us alone.  He chopped Jer's arms off, so there's no hope of finding The Cure anymore.  Plus, I killed the only person who knew where the tomb was, so Jer's no longer a threat.  If none of us attack the Mikaelsons, they won't attack us.  It's not ideal, I know, but it was the best Jer and I could do on the fly."

Their deal with Kol is about the best _any_ of them would have been able to get out of any member of his family, so she's not giving Jeremy or herself nearly enough credit and certainly not the amount they deserve especially given it was, as she put it, done 'on the fly.' 

It takes a moment, but a few seconds later Finn pulls up short when he catches what else she said, so he asks.  "She killed the only person who knew where the tomb was?"

I nod and tell Finn, Freya, and Henri, "I stayed with Bonnie after Kol left the Gilbert house both times and only went to spy on your brother after Bonnie was fast asleep.  After she and Kol parted ways the second time, she went to the Sheriff's office and used the very magick Atticus was teaching her to end his life.  Then she went home, and her mother's witch friends cast the spell removing Bonnie's addiction to the dark magick.  When that was finished, and every time she has a free moment since she replays how she killed my former friend."

I pause and take a breath I don't need then I continue telling them, "When I arrived at your family's home Kol was plotting so I know that Atticus was still in custody and physically unreachable when Kol went looking for him yesterday afternoon to do the same thing she did.  She knew Atticus would be suspicious of everyone when they released him, so she improvised and used the very magick he taught her to kill him.  It was an unexpected development, but necessary.  I'm still not sure if it pleases me that it was Bonnie who ended his life or not.  On the one hand, if she hadn't killed him, then Kol would have done it for her, but then she would be suspicious of your brother and less trusting of his offer of help.  This way Atticus can't cause anyone any more harm, and she can't blame Kol for his death."

My companions nod so I tell them, "She clearly will do whatever is necessary to protect those she cares for.  If Kol plays his cards right, he and your family will soon be at the top of that list.  The fact of the matter is that Atticus needed to be stopped and no one else would have been able to do it so easily and without anyone in authority suspecting foul play.  On the other hand, I don't want my granddaughter to become numb to killing, and I know Kol doesn't want a cold, hardened woman by his side either." 

I look at her closely for a minute.  She's shifting about on her feet and grimacing not to mention biting her lip rather hard, so I let out a sigh.  I tell my companions, "Good, she's obviously feeling the pain and not closing it out.  While I regret that she needs to feel the pain, it's much healthier than blocking it out, though I'm sure she's trying to do so anyway."

They all nod at me once more so I continue, "Her soft little heart just won't let her let go of the guilt just yet but given time and your brother's help it shouldn't hurt nearly so much as it currently does."

Finn nods and says, "I regret that she had to kill him, but the man's death really was the only way to protect the world from Silas."

Henri, Freya, and I nod.  Then despite obviously being weaker than usual Damon is on his feet and speeds over to the window before he tries to catch my baby girl's ever-shifting eyes and asks, "He chopped Jer's arms off, and you're making a deal with him?  Are you nuts?"  He pauses.  Then his blood-starved brain finally catches up to her words, so he adds, "And did I hear you right?  You… Miss Judgey… killed someone?"

She releases her lip from between her teeth and frowns before ignoring his question about Atticus and saying, "I'm probably completely off my rocker, but we had Jer's permission, so it isn't like he forced it on him.  Kol even compelled him so that he wouldn't feel any pain until after he finished healing, and then he gave Jer his blood three times, healing him up.  Now, do you want the compulsion to kill your one true love's brother removed or not?"

Henri giggles again and says, "Hell yes, he wants it removed.  There is no way in hell the selfish Ms. Gilbert will ever forgive him if he kills her brother even if it is the result of one of Kol's compulsions, and he and Kol both know that."

I nod just before Damon smirks and states what he thinks should be overly obvious, "Trusting him is a bad idea, Bonnie."

Finn frowns and tells us, "Like trusting him is such a better idea?  Our brother is not intending any harm towards her, and because of that fact, all her little friends including _Mr. Salvatore here_ will get free passes, repeatedly if their prior bad behavior is any indication.  Harming any of them would hurt her emotionally and mentally, and that just won't do so Kol won't be harming _any_ of them.  Hell, that's part of the reason he went and compelled everyone last night to keep the truce.”

I just nod, so he continues, “It's also why he compelled those who weren't already compelled to abstain from taking or wearing Vervain to remain Vervain free.  If they're free of the herb, then he can compel them whenever he wants or more specifically whenever he _needs to,_ so he can prevent them from trying anything stupid, if necessary.  This way they won’t force him into harming any of them, so really Ms. Gilbert and her little friends are infinitely better off trusting Kol and our siblings rather than the Salvatore brothers whom according to _our_ brothers have almost gotten your granddaughter and her friends killed multiple times since Elijah and Niklaus arrived."

I nod again once and respond, "I agree.  I may not have been around the Salvatores for long, but even I know that more often than not they get themselves and their friends into more trouble than necessary when they're trying to get themselves out of some situation that they usually caused for themselves in the first place.  Really if it weren't so sad and hadn't put my granddaughter into so much danger, I'd think their ability to find trouble without even looking for it is incredibly funny."

Henri smiles and nods.  "It is pretty funny if you don't take into account the threat they pose to not just your granddaughter but young Ms. Forbes and Kol's friend Jeremy, too."

I incline my head, and we focus back on the live people in the room about the time Bonnie smiles in response to Damon's warning.  The smile has an edge to it that makes it a really not nice or comforting smile.  She cuts her eyes over towards the vampire in question and looks him in the eye before she breaks the looming silence and asks Damon, "Who said anything about trusting him?  I will get payback if he double-crosses us, even if I have to delve back into the blackness Shane showed me."

My companions and I all gasp and so does Kol.  Henri frowns and says, "She means that.  Even knowing the risk, it would pose to herself she would risk it all to protect or avenge her loved ones."

We nod so Henri continues, "She's not all that different from our family after all is she?"

I shake my head and tell them, "She's exactly like your siblings in that respect.  Honestly, she shares most, if not all, of their positive traits and only a few of their negative traits."

Freya nods and says, "Well, fortunately, Kol doesn't plan on double-crossing her or her friends, at least not so much that she'll know about it, and really compelling her friends into behaving will ultimately save their lives, so it's not really a double cross, even if she probably wouldn't approve of his methods."

I nod.  However, despite Kol having the best of intentions where Bonnie is concerned the mere idea of her delving back into that black crap makes my stomach churn in protest.

Damon gasps at her proclamation and thinks, _'Well damn, I hate underestimating people, but she clearly means that and would actually do it if it meant stopping him.  On the one hand that makes me more comfortable about letting him compel me again.  On the other hand, despite what everyone thinks I'm not stupid or so hell-bent on doing evil things like most people believe.  I know, better than most of our other friends, what would truly be at risk if she touches the dark again.  Please if anyone up there actually listens to vampires let Kol be on the up and up so that Bonnie doesn't end up killing herself with that dark shit.'_  

His thoughts cause my eyes to go wide.  I would not have expected Damon Salvatore to offer up a prayer for anyone's safety, but especially not my granddaughter's safety.  Nor would I think that he cares about anyone other than himself, his brother, or Elena.

Bonnie moves to the side of the door and waves her hand again before she tells Kol with a bit of an impatient air, "Any time now, Kol, I _do_ have school to get to after all."

He just nods and moves in front of the door smiling his version of a not nice smile.  Damon can't keep himself from flinching, but he stands still and allows Kol to compel him because this is the only other option if his friends won't kill one of them.

Kol's pupils dilate just before he tells Damon, "All of the compulsions I placed on you at the bar are hereby lifted, and you will no longer try to kill Jeremy Gilbert."

Damon repeats his words back to him even though he quickly realizes, even while Kol is placing the compulsion, that he hasn't released _all_ his compulsions.  After he's released, Damon tries to open his mouth and tell Bonnie that Kol hasn't removed _all_ his compulsions, but he finds that he can't form the words.  _'Well damn, that means one of the compulsions he's artfully not releasing is making me unable to tell her that he's not on the up and up.'_

When Bonnie smiles at Kol obviously pleased and utterly clueless about his well-intentioned deviousness Damon sighs at the fact that the teen didn't catch that Kol didn't release _all_ his compulsions but only those he placed inside the bar.  Once he releases Damon from his current compulsion, Kol nods once before he then looks at my granddaughter and asks, "So Darling, have you given any thought to my helping you get your powers back?"

She frowns, but I'm sure she will do just about anything to gain her powers back even trust an original vampire with a highly questionable reputation.  Still, she goes through the motions of being wary and her eyes narrow as if in pain before she says, "I want them back, but I'm not so sure you're the best _or_ safest bet to getting them back."

Damon did a bit of research into Kol, Rebekah, and Finn, when they were all initially released from their coffins, so he knows that Kol has an excellent reputation among the witches of the world.  He has never once been known to advocate anyone using dark magick, so Damon finds himself hoping that Kol is going to keep to that reputation and isn't really planning any harm towards my grandbaby.  Damon knows that Kol has actually been known to befriend teacher-less witches and teach them everything he knows, so Damon thinks, _'It might actually be better for her that he takes her under his wing.  It means we'll all have to keep the truce, but ultimately it might turn out beneficial for all of us.'_

He shifts inside the cell bringing Kol's attention back onto him before Damon frowns and asks, "Uh, could one of you possibly open the door now and let me out?  I need to feed because Stefan bled me multiple times."

My baby girl's hazel eyes widen before she turns and looks at him and then asks, "Why would he do it more than once?"

Damon frowns while he shifts back and forth on his feet and tells her, "He thought I was getting too much strength back."

Kol smiles softly when she turns and looks at him for confirmation.  That is an excellent, yet unexpected, development.  Does she already trust Kol's word over Damon's?  Damon isn't sure if that's a good thing or not.  Her earlier curiosity about sires and their progeny, however, shows me that she already considers Kol qualified _and_ trustworthy enough to guide her through The Supernatural World. 

Kol smiles gently and nods before he tells her, "Even if he were only fed small vials of blood about every six to eight hours to prevent him from desiccating they could give him back too much strength.  Therefore, bleeding him repeatedly could have been necessary because I'm sure Stefan wouldn't have wanted to discontinue giving his brother the vials or wait too long in between feedings because desiccating is incredibly painful."

Bonnie's hazel eyes narrow and her frown deepens before she asks, "And being bled isn't?"

Finn frowns and tells his siblings and me "In comparison, no it's not."

Kol smiles and both of the live vampires in the room shake their heads slightly before the original says, "Not nearly as much.  Being bled only hurts where the knife cuts and only for a moment whereas the pain of desiccating lasts until you get blood back into your system and it feels like your insides are slowly trying to eat themselves.  If you think about it, that's an incredibly accurate description of what occurs while you're desiccating because his body was consuming all the blood inside of him to help keep him from dying.  While he can't die from starvation, his body doesn't realize that."

He pauses and then after rubbing the back of his neck and sighing he adds quietly, "I've personally wished I could actually die at one point or another while I starved because the pain is so severe.  In fact, once while we were fleeing from Mikael we went too long without feeding, and it hurt so much my siblings and I resorted to eating animals until we could find some humans to feed us properly.  So, no, being bled causes nowhere near the severe pain that desiccating usually does."

Finn is nodding while his brother speaks, then when Kol pauses again Finn tells his siblings and me, "I can still vividly recall the agonizing pain of going for two days without blood, the resignation as I hunted a deer, and the incredibly bitter taste of the animal's blood after I caught and killed a buck.  Worse than all of that was the fact that Rebekah complained for weeks afterward that she could feel fur stuck in her teeth.  I tended to agree with her, but I didn't need to hear about it constantly for weeks on end."

I smile and nod.  I may have only known Rebekah for a brief time, but she is very much the kind of person to complain when she doesn't like something.  I think she might be particularly good for Bonnie who is always a little on the reluctant side to complain unless it's on someone else's behalf.

Bonnie's eyes are wide, and her mouth is forming a little 'o.'  She nods slightly before Kol turns and looks at Damon.  I send up a prayer, _'Please let Kol realize the danger he would be putting my grandbaby in if he opens that door_ before _Damon has fed.'_

I doubt Damon would move fast enough, especially in his starved state, to prevent Kol from stopping him from harming Bonnie.  However, the whole point of compelling everyone was to ensure The Original Family wouldn't need to defend or avenge themselves so it would be stupid to release Damon when he's so obviously a threat to Kol's mate right now.

Damon is still shifting back and forth on his feet every few seconds and eying my granddaughter like she's a T-bone steak.  Even he recognizes the danger here however he doesn't want to admit a weakness in front of Kol.  Thankfully, without his needing to prompt the older man, Kol asks him, "Now, Damon, where do you keep your blood because despite your usual control over the bloodlust I don't quite trust you in your starved state not to attack Bonnie.  I will give you several bags through the window and then let you out when I'm sure you no longer pose a threat to her."

Good, because the longer Damon goes without feeding, the less sure he is that he can resist pouncing on her the moment that door opens, and he really doesn't want to give Kol a good reason to kill him.  Therefore, he doesn't argue with Kol and just tilts his head away from the stairs before he tells him, "There's a freezer down the hall."

Henri and I both smile before I tell my three companions, "I once gave a series of aneurysms to Damon for attacking Bonnie, so I have to admit that the fact he actually admits to himself that he doesn't want to hurt her surprises me.  I don't think it's just because Elena would possibly object either."

Finn and Freya nod before Henri shifts beside me and adds, "He hides it well, but he actually cares."  Pausing he probably thinks over what he just said and then shifting again he says, "Well, let me clarify, he cares about those in his group, specifically the people he's saved and who have saved him in return.  Thankfully, Bonnie seems to be one of those individuals he secretly cares for."

I nod.  I agree entirely with Henri's statements.

Kol hurries down the hall and opens the freezer grabbing four bags and then hurries back to my granddaughter's side before he hands one of the bags to Damon who barely manages not to tear the whole bag to shreds in his haste to feed.

Realization dawns in my grandbaby's hazel eyes and she figures out that although Damon would have regretted it after the fact and wouldn't have _wanted_ to harm her he would have anyway he's _that_ hungry.

Kol nods at her once before handing the second bag to Damon which he drinks slightly slower but still too fast for his own comfort.  Kol turns his head and looks at Bonnie before continuing his conversation from earlier while Damon drinks, "I understand you don't trust me yet, Darling, and that's understandable and advisable even.  You have a good head on your shoulders and strong instincts from what I've seen of you.  In fact, I think your problems with the professor sprung from you not listening to your instincts when they warned you of trouble, no?"

I'm nodding deeply.  Bonnie frowns but also nods though not as deeply, so he continues telling her, "Okay, so there is absolutely nothing wrong with your instincts.  Therefore, I am perfectly happy with you questioning everything I or anyone else says or does.  That means predators will be less successful at leading you astray, especially if you work on further honing your instincts and then resolve to listen to them, when they try to tell you something, even if, _especially if_ , they tell you something you don't want to hear."

She nods more deeply, and I tell Kol's brothers, "The one major flaw my granddaughter has is that she's stubborn.  If she gets something into her head, she rarely lets it go, and Atticus knew that, so he lured her in by promising that she'd be able to see me again.  Her instincts told her there was something wrong about him, though."

Henri, Freya, and Finn nod in response.  Their brother smiles slightly, and he tells her, "The good news, Darling, is that you're a witch, so I can't compel you without your consent.  I don't have magick of my own anymore either, so I can't spell you or compel you that way.  That means you and your instincts should be able to be very certain that what you think and feel regarding me or anyone else are your own thoughts and feelings on any given matter."

Damon is aware enough that at Kol's words he thinks, _'Wait, he doesn't have magick of his own_ anymore _?  That means he used to be a witch.  No wonder Kol takes young witches under his wing.  He used to be one himself.  Well, damn.'_  

Damon's tense shoulders relax ever so slightly at that realization.  He understands now that Kol has only the best of intentions towards Bonnie, which Damon thinks is good because she's obviously listening and giving earnest consideration to the original's words. 

Bonnie nods slightly, so Kol smiles wider and tells her, "Furthermore, I would allow, nay encourage, you to read over any spell I might propose you do and ask whomever you like for a second opinion before you go using any of the spells I might give you."

My granddaughter's eyes widen at his words, and I know he just said the absolute right thing by suggesting she get a second opinion.  Damon agrees and hopes that Kol doesn't compel her mother to tell her what he wants her to hear.  He thinks, _'Hmm, maybe I should go visit Abby and make sure she's taking Vervain.  Shit, probably best not to.  She's still pretty pissed at me, and the last time I approached her she threatened to stake me if I tried to contact her again, so I'll just cross my fingers that Kol doesn't compel her to give false advice.  I will keep an eye on the situation, though, and approach her anyway if I suspect foul play.'_

I smile and nod at both vampires' thoughts.  Kol is thinking something similar to Damon, _'If necessary, I'll go visit her mother and make sure she's agreeable to giving opinions on the spells I give Bonnie.  I really have no plans to lead her down the wrong path though so I won't compel false advice out of the woman.  The compulsion will merely have her give advice at all, but we'll see if I need to step in or not before I go revisit the baby vampire.'_

I frown slightly and tell Henri, Finn, and Freya, "It's a 50/50 chance that she'll willingly advise Bonnie.  I recently discovered that my daughter is not the woman I thought she was because if I'm right, then Abby knowingly and willingly left my baby girl with Rudy knowing she'd be in danger and didn't even have the decency to call and warn me."

Finn's eyes are wide when he asks, "You think she knew he was abusive?"

I nod with hunched shoulders, "Yes, her thoughts anytime she's around him are memories of him hitting her.  He caused the three miscarriages she had.  I knew she had lost three babies, but I didn't know it was because Rudy kicked her in the stomach repeatedly, sometimes even though he knew she was pregnant."

Finn nods once and tells me, "It'd be best to hope Kol never discovers the finer details of Mr. Hopkins' crimes or your granddaughter will find herself burying her father in quick order."

I nod but admit my darkest desire, "I'm not a violent person by nature, but I almost wish Kol would find out.  However, I know the loss of Rudy would gut Bonnie."

Henri frowns and asks, "But he hits her?  Or am I misunderstanding?"

I nod again and tell him, "You're not misunderstanding."

He turns so that he's completely facing me and asks, "But if he hurts her, wouldn't she be happy he couldn't hurt her anymore?"

Finn shakes his head, and after placing his hand on his brother's shoulder, he reminds his youngest sibling, "We were all the same way.  Several of us threatened Mikael but when push came to shove none of us could bring ourselves to end him."

I shrug and add, "I'm afraid it's more than that.  Abby leaving has given my baby girl abandonment issues.  Ultimately Bonnie fears being alone.  Plus, her father has her so twisted around that she loves him despite the pain and fear he causes her."

Finn gently places his hand on my shoulder and tells me softly, "Your granddaughter will never be alone again, and she will find that out for herself in short order.  As for her father, I will pray that Kol keeps his temper in check for Ms. Bennett's sake.  I think if anyone would have the ability to cause him to reign in his short temper it will be your granddaughter."

I smile and tell him, "I think you can begin calling her Bonnie from now on.  I mean, if your brother gets his way she'll be a Mikaelson soon enough."

He smiles and tells me, "You make a fair point, though I feel uncomfortable calling her by her given name when she has not granted me permission to do so, but if we're lucky she'll never end up on The Otherside, so she'll never have the opportunity to give me leave to call her Bonnie."  He nods then before telling me, "Bonnie will most definitely be a Mikaelson if Kol has anything to say about it.  I've never known him not to get his way unless Niklaus interfered in his plans by daggering him.  Those are the only times Kol didn't complete the tasks he set for himself and ultimately get his way."

Henri, Freya, and I nod at Finn with smiles on our faces.  We turn and watch their brother smile gently and tell my precious granddaughter at least part of his mission statement, "My goal with you, Bonnie, is to help make you stronger and more knowledgeable.  That will allow you to avoid falling into the traps of predators like the professor in the future.  The only way for that to happen is for you to have an open dialog between you, me, and your mother or some other witch or witches that you might trust implicitly not to lead you astray.  That open dialog will allow you to not only learn what is safe and what is not but also _why_ whatever spell is or is not safe."

I nod again at his words and tell my companions, "My one regret, well other than not realizing what Rudy was doing to Bonnie, is that I died before I could finish her training, or really even get it started."

The three other ghosts nod back before their brother continues, "I think part of the problem that led to you using dark magick is that although witches often talk about keeping the balance and working within The Laws of Nature very few individuals ever actually tell their students what any of that looks like."

Kol pauses and then with a smile on his handsome face he tells my grandbaby, "Based on what I know of your mother's training I'd say that if your grandmother hadn't died when she did she would have taught you everything you needed to know.  However, her untimely death hurt you not just emotionally but also in the sense that your very competent teacher could no longer lay the proper foundation that would allow you to guide yourself away from predators like the professor who only want you to use your magick for their own gain."

Her eyes widen, so he nods and tells her, "Everything I've heard about Ms. Sheila Bennett says she was very competent, an amazing teacher, and an excellent role model for those she taught.  Everyone I've spoken to about her says she was one of the greats in that she was incredibly patient with her students, had a solid head on her shoulders, a well-honed moral compass, and a complete understanding of The Laws of Nature and The Will of God.  I think I'm a poor substitute for such an exceptional witch and teacher, but I'll do my best to honor her memory and her purpose on this earth by helping to make you stronger, more knowledgeable, and more inclined to listen when your instincts tell you something isn't right."

I'm nodding and surprisingly so is Damon of all people.  He thinks, _'Apparently Kol and I have at least one thing in common: We both do our research when it comes to our enemies.'_  

Damon wonders, _‘Is Kol's interest in Bonnie a good thing or a bad thing?  No one else on the planet can teach her what Kol knows, but if Kol teaches her, she'll befriend him, which will either pit her against our side or pit Kol against his family.’_  

Damon sighs to himself, _‘Not much would cause Kol to turn against his family,’_ which is incredibly accurate.  I can't think of a single thing that would cause him to side with someone other than a member of his family. 

Damon frowns slightly before he thinks, _'We may very well be about to lose Bonnie to the other side.'_ He pauses then thinks, _'She might be able to win_ all of them _over if we're lucky, though,'_ so he sends up another prayer, _'Please don't let this come back and bite us all in the ass.'_

Bonnie meanwhile is frowning, so Kol guesses at the cause and tells her, "I think that part of your problem is mostly to do with your age and your late introduction to witchcraft.  When anyone ages they grow to listen to their instincts more and trust in them completely.  You also have only been practicing a short time, so naturally, you know far less than someone who has been practicing even just a few years longer than you have.  Unfortunately, the professor likely knew enough about you and what you had endured with the sudden death of your grandmother that he was able to exploit the weaknesses that your youthful age and overall inexperience come with."

He gentles his smile when her frown lessens some and tells her, "If you allow me, when I'm done with you, your instincts will be finely tuned.  You won't question or decide to ignore what they tell you ever again.  I hope you will also have a much more solid understanding of what it means and actually looks like keeping The Balance and precisely what witches mean when they say the term, 'The Laws of Nature.'

My granddaughter nods and smiles slightly before she says, "I have to think about whether I'll let you fill that role for me, but I'll listen and hear what you have to say and read whatever you want me to, but I'm not making any promises that I'll actually do any of your spells."

Everyone in the room over 20 nods deeply before Kol smiles widely and says, "Good.  I will feel infinitely better if you begin questioning everyone's motives when they suggest you do anything, even the most mundane things."

She nods back before Kol hands Damon the third bag.  Damon slowly and without his previous twitchy movements or hungry gaze opens and begins drinking from the bag.  Kol watches in silence while the other vampire drinks and then he hands Damon the last bag when he finishes the third. 

When Damon has drunk the fourth and final bag in its entirety, Kol looks at him for a minute.  His movements are no longer quick and jerky, and he's not eying Bonnie like the predator he really is, so Kol nods before taking the key to the cell off the wall to the side of the door and inserting it into the door, turning the key and unlocking, and then opening the door.

Damon just stands there without moving, which causes Kol to nod once before Damon follows an urge that has him inwardly groaning again because he realizes it's got to be another one of Kol's compulsions that he didn't lift earlier.  Regardless of that knowledge he can't resist the urge, so he follows the compulsion, and despite his best efforts to keep the question to himself he asks my granddaughter, "So if Kol cut off Jer's arms, how's Elena handling it?  I don't figure she's happy about that or the fact that you're suddenly taking lessons from the original who tried to kill her last living relative."

While the blood drains from Bonnie's face, Kol's chest tightens, and a sharp pain radiates from the center of his chest after her eyes tear up slightly.  She sniffles quietly before she tells Damon, "When I left last night, she was willing to keep the truce, but you and I both know after a good night's rest she's probably pissed off again that I essentially helped the so-called bad guy cut off her brother's arms."

Damon frowns slightly at her use of the phrase 'so-called,' which indicates that she's already questioning what she knows about Kol from other people.  Damon thinks, _'That's probably bad, but I'm hoping it's actually good.'_

Still, he can't stop himself from nodding and saying, "No so-called about it, Bonnie, Kol isn't a nice man, and he's probably killed more people than you've ever met, and _you_ helped him chop off Jeremy's arms."  No probably about it.  I know he's killed more people than _Damon_ has ever met, so he's definitely killed more people than _my granddaughter_ has known.  Damon knows that too but can't keep his mouth shut when he says, "Plus, by chopping off Jer's arms you effectively removed all possibility of Elena ever being human again."

Damon thinks, _‘I can't say I’m too upset about that to be honest because I’d prefer not to watch the love of my life grow old and die.  I know from mine and Stefan’s experiences that eventually Elena will come to terms with the turn her life took.  That will allow the two of us to have an opportunity to be happy for the rest of eternity that we wouldn’t have if she turns back.’_  

He frowns, _‘Of course, she explicitly didn't want to live forever, so it'll take even longer than it would for a vampire who wasn't aware that eternity was a possibility before waking in transition.  I can make her see the benefits of her new life expectancy, though, so I’d rather she be forced to get over the idea of turning human again sooner rather than later and help her get on with accepting the hand life has dealt her.’_

He nods once and thinks, _‘Ultimately, Elena will be better and happier now that she's a vampire.  She just has to allow herself to be happy.’_

He doesn't say any of that, though, and the tears that had been pooling in my granddaughter's eyes fall when she nods in response to his previously spoken words.  Kol's eyes narrow and the pain in his chest deepens before she tells Damon, "I know that, but I was willing to do whatever it took to protect _everyone_ even take away my best friend's hopes of becoming human again.  It hurts that she'll hate me for the rest of her now exceptionally long existence, but I had no other choice.  The alternative was everyone we love dying gruesome and painful deaths."

Finn turns to Henri and me and tells us, "I wish I had been present when she had her premonition, so I could know for certain what it entailed."

I frown but then explain, "I saw it."  I then quickly describe Bonnie's vision and how vivid the details were. 

When I finish the tale, Finn tells me, "No wonder she was willing to upset Ms. Gilbert."

I just nod, and the prolonged silence the three living people in the basement have been perpetuating finally ends when Bonnie, who has been studiously avoiding eye contact with both men since Damon began talking, quickly wipes at her wet cheeks and then runs from the room with her eyes trained on the floor.

Kol turns and looks at Damon and despite his having compelled Damon to make my baby girl cry Kol says, "You're an arse Salvatore, she didn't deserve that."

Damon frowns and tries to tell him that he knows Kol compelled that whole little scene out of him, but he can't.  All he _can_ say is, "It's true, and you know it just as well as I do."

Kol shakes his head before Damon tells him honestly, "She's good people, so original or not, if you hurt her, I will find a way to end you and your entire family."

Kol's eyes widen at that proclamation because he wouldn’t have thought Damon would care enough about my grandbaby to threaten him.  The fact is Damon respects my granddaughter, more than he respects anyone else, even though he is wholly unwilling to admit that to anyone, _ever_.

He absentmindedly bobs his head in response to Damon's well-intended threat, and then at vampire speed, Kol runs down the hall, up the stairs, and out the door of the house.  Damon and the rest of us follow him, and when we get to the still open door, Bonnie is standing in the driveway hugging herself and crying.

Kol slowly approaches and then wraps his arms around her and pulls her soft and very vulnerable body into his chest.  He smiles slightly when she doesn't fight him.  Stroking her hair over and over he allows her to cry out all of her fear, anger, frustration, shame, and guilt before he tells her, "It's okay, Darling, everything will work out the way it's meant to.  You'll see."

He means that too.  Everything will work out the way it should even if he needs to help by nudging everyone in the correct direction. 

Damon turns and heads back into the house leaving the pair to figure it all out on their own.  He gently and quietly closes the door and moves to the side window to watch without Bonnie knowing he's there.


	4. Behind Their Masks

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Author's Note/Public Service Announcement:  The bit about seatbelts and Liz's recollection of the number of dead people she's had to cut a seatbelt off is based on my Dad's experiences as a Fireman.  He constantly says he never cut a seatbelt off a dead person, but they had to call the coroner many times for folks who didn't have their seatbelts on.  Just sayin'.

**______________________________________________________________________________**

**Chapter 004**

**Behind Their Masks**

**______________________________________________________________________________**

**Friday, December 03, 2010, 8:45 a.m.**

**Outside the Salvatore Boarding House**

**______________________________________________________________________________**

Freya, Finn, Henri and I watch while Bonnie cries into Kol's chest.  My heart breaks for the pain my granddaughter has suffered, both at the hands of her father and from her knowledge of and participation in The Supernatural World, as well as from her having received that premonition.  No one should have to watch their friends meet horrible deaths, even if it was just a potential future and not their actual fates.

A few minutes later her tears have turned into sniffles, so she pulls away.  Kol brings his hands up to her face, and with a gentle smile on his own face, he cups her cheeks before brushing away her tear tracks with his thumbs even more gently, far more gently, than my baby girl would have previously given him credit for being capable of.

Smiling softly at her, Kol nods slightly and then steps back breaking the moment.  Immediately wishing he hadn't broken it so soon Bonnie pauses and then asks herself, _'Why should I care that he broke the moment.  It doesn't mean anything even if I maybe wish it did, which I don't.'_

I laugh and say, "Oh Baby Girl, you didn't even stand a chance."

Finn smiles and tells me, "Our brother didn't stand a chance either."

I nod and watch the pair try to find their way together.  Lord knows they're going to have trials in their life together, but I believe the two will make the other stronger and be each other's support when they can't be strong on their own.

After he breaks the moment, but before Bonnie can say anything and voice her opinion that this meant nothing, Kol holds out his hand and says, "Give me your keys, Darling."

Without stopping and thinking about it, she reaches into her purse, pulls her keyring out, and obediently drops it into his waiting palm.  Using the key fob, Kol unlocks the doors and then takes Bonnie's hand and turns her before he walks them both towards the passenger side of her car.  His hand is rough in hers, and she figures the calluses rubbing against the soft skin of her palm are the result of his having worked hard to survive while he was human.  She's not wrong. 

She comes out of her thoughts about Kol's human life when the object of her thoughts opens the car door and helps her sit down.  Closing her door, he walks back around the car before opening the driver's side door.  Getting into the vehicle, he adjusts the seat to make room for his long legs.  Once he's situated and satisfied with the seat's position, my granddaughter looks at him with wide eyes and asks him, "Kol, what…?"

Henri, Finn, Freya, and I think ourselves into the tiny back seat with Henri sitting on Finn's lap while Kol frowns in the front seat and tells my grandbaby, "You're too upset to drive just yet, so I thought I'd drive."

Despite her recent upset she smiles slightly and asks, "Do you even know _how_ to drive?"

Kol chuckles and pockets her keys and then expertly pushes the power button starting the car.  At his action, she thinks, _'Um, yeah, it's not weird or anything that a vampire who's been locked in a coffin for the last almost 100 years actually knows how to turn on my very modern Prius.'_  

He smiles and tells her, "Yes, we did our best to be very modern and forward thinking through the years, so I actually learned how to drive using a Model T back in early 1909 mere months after the first one came off the assembly line."

Henri chuckles and says, "I remember that.  He almost hit a vegetable cart in the market… twice."

Finn chuckles back and tells us, "That's nothing, Rebekah actually ran into Niklaus."

Henri turns and looks at his brother with wide eyes, "Oh man, I missed that?"

Finn smiles gently and tells him, "You were too busy avoiding me."

Frowning Henri tells him, "I didn't want to get attached and used to you being around when it was possible you would be undaggered."

Nodding Finn says, "I know.  I understand, and I forgive you.  I might even agree with you, but that is why you missed Rebekah hitting Niklaus with his new automobile."

Henri nods and tells us, "God, I wish I could have seen his face when she ran into him."

Smiling widely, Finn tells him, "It was quite the sight."

Kol meanwhile tells Bonnie, "Elijah was extremely helpful and introduced me to modern automobiles when I was released from my coffin this time.  He even took me aside in the weeks after my siblings and I were revived and taught me how they work as well as the rules regarding driving in this day and age."

She thinks, _'He learned how to drive in a Model T?'_  

He looks at her sitting beside him and grins before he says, "Using the forged documents he had drawn up for Rebekah and me after we were undaggered we both even went and got our licenses last month despite the dangers Esther was causing and our heartfelt desire to upset those threats.  And before you ask, no, neither one of us compelled a passing score out of the man administering the road test, despite how tempting it was to just do it the easy way and be done with it."

Bonnie is still stuck on the fact that he learned how to drive in a Model T.  He pauses, though he seems not to notice her distraction.  His grin gets wider before he says, "I figure I'm immortal and not very likely to die, so I have plenty of time to do it properly and not cheat."

My granddaughter's brain is stuck, _'A Model T?'_   Still she giggles at his words, but her eyes are wide when he faces forward, puts on his seat belt, and then turning only his head looks at her and tells her, "Best put your seatbelt on, Darling.  It wouldn't do for me to get pulled over for having a passenger not properly secured, even if I could simply compel the officer into forgetting he even pulled me over in the first place."

She nods and quickly puts her seatbelt on for two reasons.  1., she never goes anywhere without her seatbelt on.  That’s mostly because Liz continually tells her, Caroline, and their friends that in her two decades as a police officer she's never actually had to cut a seatbelt off a dead person.  She finishes the story by telling them that she has had to call the coroner to come to get countless people who weren't wearing a seatbelt at all.  2., Bonnie doesn't want Kol compelling anyone unless it's absolutely necessary.  Because she can make it not happen by wearing her seatbelt, she doesn't argue and just buckles the belt in place. 

He nods with a pleased smile that shows his straight, very white, blunt human teeth before he turns his face forward again and pulls out of the driveway.  Meanwhile, Bonnie’s mind once again goes back to a single fact: _'He learned how to drive in a Model T?  Holy Cow!  I mean theoretically I know he's over a thousand years old, but for some strange reason the idea of him learning how to drive in one of the first cars ever mass produced, well that strikes me as odd, or maybe odd isn't the right word, but it definitely strikes me as something out of the ordinary.'_

She pictures him in a proper suit from the times with a long coat, top hat and driving gloves, which rips a giggle out of her causing him to look at her out of the corner of his eye.  The question, _'What are you giggling at?'_ is written all over his face with his narrowed eyes and pursed lips, so she calms her giggles and tells him, "Sorry I was just picturing you driving a Model T in the clothes of the time complete with driving gloves and top hat."  She pauses and then sheepishly tells him, "Sorry, it seemed funnier when it was in my head.  Ignore me."

He smiles a soft smile.  Turning his face to look at Bonnie for a moment he then looks back at the road before he says, "The Derby or Bowler Hat as it was known in Britain was more to my liking at the time.  Honestly, it was more to most everybody's liking at the time."  He pauses then continues by telling my granddaughter, "Well, except Nik and his adopted son when they went to the theater.  Regardless, I'm sure the apparel from back then seems comical to you now just as the apparel from _this_ time seemed comical to me when I first saw women with skirts that barely hid their interesting bits.  Don't get me wrong, I thoroughly enjoy the view in most cases, but it was rather jarring and silly looking in some instances to my ancient tastes."

He pauses again and then with a smile firmly on his face he confides in Bonnie and says, "I actually miss the brief glimpse of ankle I would search for while at court or a ball and the thrill that little flash of flesh would give me." 

His smile turns into a grin before he tells my granddaughter, "Back then there was much more left to the imagination.  I think that's why men today are so very bored and so very lazy."

He glances at her out of the corner of his eyes and then tells my truly fascinated grandbaby, "A lot of women, not all of them mind you, but enough, don't bother with propriety and let the men they encounter know all the secrets that used to be hidden by layers of fabric.  Men no longer have to work for that privilege, and it's led to a generation of lazy boys who wouldn't have survived five minutes even one hundred years ago never mind when I was born."

Bonnie thinks, _'Um wow, the old-fashioned styles don't seem comical to me at all.  More so they seem romantic and timeless.'_   However, it never occurred to her to stop and consider how strange and utterly foreign the fashion of _this_ time would seem to someone who had last been out in the world 100 years ago.  _'Maybe I should reconsider how I dress because I don't want to show it all.'_  

He's not done talking, though, so she smiles slightly when he tells her, "Now there are some, you for instance, that have managed to walk the incredibly thin line between modern sexy and trashy.  Your outfit today is a prime example of how some women, and, in my opinion, far too few of them, still manage to make us guess what your interesting bits look like.  Oh, you entice us, for sure, but you don't overstep the line despite the new less strict rules defining propriety."

I agree.  Bonnie tastefully walks the line without going over it like so many women in this day and age.  Henri, Freya, and Finn are nodding too.

Kol continues telling my still thoroughly interested granddaughter, "That shirt you're wearing is a perfect example.  It's cut in a manner that compliments your curves but entices me to want to know more about what's underneath without giving away all your secrets with just a glance.  Your friend, Ms. Forbes, tends to successfully walk that line too, and even Ms. Gilbert, as loathe as I am to admit it, manages to keep it tasteful."

Thinking, _'Okay, maybe I don't have to rethink my fashion sense then.'_

Bonnie giggles when he says, "Some of the girls I've seen when I've picked my sister up from school or dropped her off in the morning just made me shake my head because technically in this day and age they're not yet considered adults.  Yet they were showing far more skin than the whores ever showed three hundred years ago, and _they_ were in the business of selling their bodies, so the gentlemen they came in contact with needed to know what they were procuring for the evening.  Therefore, the women left little to the imagination.  I'm still shocked your generation manages to show even more skin than the whores of previous generations and the world at large thinks absolutely nothing of it."

Finn is nodding deeply and wholeheartedly agrees with everything his brother just said, and so does Henri who is nodding as deeply as his oldest brother.  Henri nods twice more just before Kol frowns slightly and tells my granddaughter, "Modern fashion, for the most part, is one of the things I find myself shaking my head at when I see what's now considered acceptable.  Honestly, I usually wish for the old dresses and the emphasis on necks, shoulders, and upper arms and that ever elusive flash of ankle if I were lucky enough to catch a glimpse of it."

He pauses and then grinning slightly he tells her in a soft, nostalgic voice, "Don't even get me started on how much I miss the intricate hair-dos of the past and how much fun untangling them truly was.  It used to be the only men who ever saw a woman's hair down were the men of her family, such as her father or her brothers and/or her husband or in my case the vampire who seduced the woman out of her very pretty ball gown."

Finn chuckles deeply when Kol says that last part while Bonnie giggles before Finn tells us, "He has seduced a fair number of women out of their gowns that's for sure.  Perhaps even more, per time not daggered, than Niklaus has in that same period.  Don't get me wrong, though, Kol was far pickier about the women he spent his time and attention on than Niklaus ever was.  Still, Kol definitely got around before he converted to Christianity." 

Kol waits a moment for Bonnie's giggles to die down then he sighs and says, "I really do miss the mystery that used to surround women.  Nowadays it's all out there for anyone who cares to see it to do so without having to put in any effort."

My grandbaby pictures herself in one of the many ball gowns she's seen Elena in, and the intricate hair-dos Elena and Caroline have been known to wear to the town's many balls and wonders what Kol would think if she dressed that way.  _'Not that I'm usually invited to the balls, or not the fancier ones anyway.'_  

Shaking her head, she thinks, _'What do I care what he would think of me all dressed up in an old-fashioned ball gown?  Get a grip, Bonnie!'_

She blushes then she once more shakes her head to rid it of those thoughts and flips down the visor in front of her.  Looking at her face in the mirror, she uses her thumb to push away the very slight smudges her crying caused.  A smile breaks out on her face when Kol cuts his eyes towards her and with a genuine smile says, "You look beautiful, Darling."

Finn smiles again and tells me, "She really does look beautiful.  She has glowing skin that looks flawless from where I'm sitting.  Her hair is shiny and well managed, though not overstyled like so many young people have the tendency to do.  Her outfit compliments her skin tone and her lovely curves that even I have noticed even though she is unknowingly spoken for by my brother."  I raise my eyebrow at him, so he gives me a cheeky smile I'm beginning to realize is a Mikaelson family trait and tells me, "I _am_ a man after all, and she's a stunning woman, Sheila." 

I just smile because my baby girl _is_ beautiful.  Bonnie says nothing, but thinks, _'It's always nice to have a hot guy tell you that you're beautiful and while he's possibly, maybe, evil the fact remains he's sex on two legs.  He's H-O-T-T-N-E-S-S personified, in fact.'_  

Her smile at his words is genuine.  However, she squares her shoulders before she silently promises herself, _'I will not crush on the 'Happy Homicidal Maniac.'_   _I just won't do it.  It's a bad idea any way I look at it,'_

I chuckle and tell my companions, "It's already too late.  The fact that she's warning herself of what a bad idea it is means she's already doing it."

Henri giggles and tells me, "It's the Mikaelson charm.  The ladies just can't resist my brothers.  Look at Bonnie's friend, Caroline, she's been trying to resist Nik, but he's slowly wearing her down until he can wiggle his way into her heart.  Your granddaughter, all due respect, doesn't stand a chance against Kol."

I lazily bob my head at the same time Bonnie nods at her reflection and orders herself, _'I will not crush on the hotter than hell thousand-year-old bad boy.'_  

She repeats that to herself once more, _'I will_ not _crush on the hot as hell thousand-year-old bad boy vampire.  No matter how pretty he is to look at or how happy a simple smile from him makes me I will not crush on him.  I will not fall for his boyish charms.  I will not melt on the inside when he graces me with one of his handsome smiles.  I will hold in my girlish giggles when he flirts with me, and above all else, I will remember that Damon is probably right, and Kol has probably, okay almost certainly, killed more people than I've ever met in my entire life.'_

Pausing her silent rant, she then shakes her head before continuing, _'Never mind that the same could be said for Damon and Elena ignores it.  Kol is a killer, and he's made no attempt to hide that fact so I will remember the countless people he's killed, and I will not fall for him.  I won't do it.'_

My grandbaby nods at herself again while she looks in the mirror and reassures herself that she won't _'do something stupid like fall for Kol Mikaelson.'_   Then she smiles at the fact that her makeup is mostly intact, so she flips the visor back up and sits back, but when we get to the turn to go towards the school, she frowns because Kol flips the wrong blinker and turns in the opposite direction of where she thinks we should be going.  While being mindful that he's supposedly the least stable Mikaelson she cautiously tells him, "Uh, Kol, the school is the other way."

He nods with a slight smile on his face that she thinks looks nicer than it has any right to and says, "I know, Darling, but I don't think you're quite ready to face the masses, do you?"

Bonnie frowns and looks sideways at the vampire behind the steering wheel while he drives her little white Prius farther away from school before asking him, "So what is this?  A sympathy kidnapping or something?"

A Sympathy Kidnapping?  Henri, Finn, Freya, and I burst out laughing at that.  Kol chuckles too and tells himself, _'I'll have to remember that and tell 'Bekah.'_  

I may not have known Rebekah for as long as I've known Finn and Kol, but I know she'll get a good laugh out of that.  It's in line with something she would say in this sort of situation. 

While Kol laughs, my granddaughter can't help but smile because little laugh lines appear around his eyes before he tells her, "Something like that, Darling.  Your heart is still hammering in your chest, and you're still trembling ever so slightly, so I don't think you're quite ready for school just yet, especially if Ms. Gilbert is present.  Therefore, I thought I'd take you out for coffee and let you settle yourself first."

He's serious too.  Her limbs and core are trembling which is clear to everyone in the car when she raises her hands in front of her face.  She puts her hand to her neck next, and she discovers that her heart is thundering away as though she's running a marathon.  Until Kol mentioned either fact, _she_ hadn't noticed either thing. However, her frown deepens.  She's wondering, _'Why does Kol care whether or not I'm upset?'_

Ordinarily, he wouldn’t if it were anyone other than his chosen mate.  However, it _is_ Bonnie, so he cares very much about what she's feeling and how she's responding to the things happening around her.  She's young and vulnerable, especially right now given all that happened with Atticus.  Although she does a decent job of hiding what's going on with her from her friends, especially now that I know about her father's treatment of her, Kol sees through the mask enough to realize it is just that, a mask she wears.  She's slowly but surely falling apart, and Kol very much so intends to put her back together and then help hold the pieces together so that they can heal. 

She has no clue, though.  So far as she's concerned, at this point, Kol's tried to kill her at least once and his family, if you want to call Esther that, which at this point I don't, is the reason her mother is now a vampire.  By her way of thinking she's tried or threatened to kill Kol back, so she turns and looks at him before she asks, quite a bit more rudely than he would ordinarily accept from anyone other than his chosen mate, "What do you care if I'm settled or not?"

Bonnie frowns as soon as the words are out of her mouth.  She realizes a moment too late that she asked that more tactlessly than might be wise when dealing with the Mikaelson brother that Niklaus, of all people, has publicly called his family's 'Happy Homicidal Maniac.'  She thinks about that for a minute, _'Klaus thinks_ Kol _is a 'Happy Homicidal Maniac.'  Coming from a man I know has no qualms about killing anyone he pleases if it suits his purposes, well I'm certain_ that _says something, and I'm also not sure that that bodes well for me right now.'_  

I believe Finn's explanation from earlier about how the moniker is less about how happy Kol is killing people and more about shoving his face in his enormous guilt, after the fact.  Other than daggering them, Niklaus has extraordinarily little recourse when it comes to controlling his siblings.  It's why, according to Finn, Henri, and Kol, himself, the hybrid has daggered Kol seven separate times for a grand total of about four centuries in his coffin. 

I figure it's the same reason Niklaus left Finn daggered after The Five daggered them all almost nine centuries ago.  Finn wasn't following his brother's rules, and according to previous discussions we've had Finn spoke once too many about leaving the family and traveling on his own. 

Conversely, I believe Kol was smarter than Finn even back then and did not make his mistakes.  They all told me their stories while they were daggered.  Honestly, there is little else to do here on The Otherside than reflect and reminisce.  So, I know that as soon as they turned, Kol fled.  Mostly he was, I believe, trying to get away from the reminders of what exactly he had lost because of his parents' plan.  When he was with his family and grew restless, which he has tended to do, he rarely commented that he was contemplating leaving for a time and instead just disappeared in the middle of the night.  He always left most everything behind, and only the fact that his siblings were incredibly careful about taking with them or hiding anything he left behind either when he disappeared or when he was daggered kept him from having next to nothing.  In fact, out of all of them, Finn thinks that Kol has more belongings than anyone else in his family except Niklaus who has, unlike the rest of them, been awake the full 1,009 years since they transitioned. 

However, most everyone believes that their family spent the last thousand years fleeing Mikael, and while that is true, it is also true that his siblings spent a good chunk of their time chasing after Kol while trying to simultaneously keep Mikael at bay.

Still, by Kol's own admission he hasn't caused an unwarranted bloodbath since 1821 when he was grieving and reacted poorly.  When he was awake between 1900 and Christmas of 1914, he hardly killed anyone, with a few notable exceptions who threatened or harmed those he cared about.  The point is if we believe him and his siblings, and I think we should, Kol hasn't been that homicidal maniac in some time.  In fact, other than trying to get revenge on Niklaus by killing as many people as he could in his anger and pain back in the 1820's he stopped killing indiscriminately back in the late 1690's when he met a woman who taught him how to control his temper better, for the most part anyway.  She instilled in him far more than he feels he ever showed her and this last time he woke he resolved to be the man she knew he could be not the monster he was when not trying to control his anger or jealousy.

Still Bonnie doesn't know any of that, so she's wondering, _'What on earth was I thinking getting into a car with him?'_  

While Henri, Finn, Freya, Kol, and I know that he's not actually a threat to her, quite the opposite really, so far as she's still concerned he's a genuine and extremely dangerous threat to her and her friends.  She shakes her head, and then she physically braces herself preparing for a worst-case scenario because he's now frowning with stiff shoulders.  He's very obviously unhappy when he flips the turn signal again with a little more force than strictly necessary and turns at the light.  Taking a deep breath and slowly releasing it, he forces himself to calm down lest he scares her or worse angers her and burns a bridge he very much so needs not to burn. 

His voice is a little hoarse, but there is no bite to it when he tells her, "Darling, I know my family has not been… well, 'kind' is probably the wrong word, but we have hurt people dear to you.  You need to understand that most of that was in defense of or seeking vengeance for ourselves or another member of our family."

Stopping, her eyes roll around in her head while she replays every time Kol or one of his siblings attacked or otherwise harmed her or her friends.  She sits up straight when she realizes he's right.  He and his siblings have only attacked her group with potentially lethal force _after_ they've been threatened or attacked themselves.  The only exceptions are Niklaus and the Sacrifice to undo the curse placed on him all those centuries ago by Esther and then the ensuing battle for Elena's blood that resulted in Jeremy almost getting hit by a car, and Finn's unwilling role in Esther's plans that would have led to all vampires everywhere dying. 

I suppose you could make the argument that Kol attacked them unprovoked, but I've heard enough while on The Otherside to know that Silas is not just a tale told to scare young children.  He's very real and a bona fide threat to the security of the world at large _and_ the safety of The Otherside.  Therefore, if they released Silas from his slumber, Kol and every other living creature, not to mention every spirit on The Otherside would have been at risk, so technically Kol's actions were really in defense of himself and the rest of the world.

Kol glances at Bonnie quickly and then looks back at the road before continuing his point, "If you think about it, even Nik killing the mayor was a direct response to his insipid first hybrid setting my brother up to be attacked by his hybrids.  By the way, that was incredibly stupid any way you look at it because even if they weren't sired to him anymore, they were still descended from him, and killing him would have killed them too.  Regardless, if the insufferable baby hybrid hadn't tried to mess with Nik, then his mother would still be alive." 

While I certainly doubt my granddaughter condones Niklaus' actions, he wouldn't have acted that way without Tyler, hot-headed brat that he is, acting out first, and, honestly, I doubt that Bonnie, as moral and decent as she is, really condones Tyler's actions at all either.  The teen nods her head slightly, and her shoulders relax slightly.  Her thoughts tell the four ghosts in the car that she does blame Tyler for his mother's death more than she blames Niklaus for it even if it was The Original Hybrid who held Carol's head under the water until she stopped struggling.

Kol frowns slightly and then adds, "Then if you also consider The So-Called Sun and the Moon Curse, technically Nik _was_ attacked.  Yes, technically it was over a thousand years ago, but he wasn't the one who set it up so that he needed to kill three people to return himself to his full self.  Our dearly departed mother did that, and while I know you weren't happy that Ms. Gilbert was in danger, I overheard you talking to Ms. Forbes a few weeks ago right before I left for Denver.  You told your friend that you understood once you knew the truth of the curse that he'd want nothing more than to remove those shackles our mother placed on his wolf side over a millennium ago.  You told her that in your opinion Esther was in the wrong in that case, not Nik, and you cautiously admitted to your friend that if you could have figured out a way to help him without killing Ms. Gilbert, then you would have.  So, I know you fully understand exactly what happened in that situation and exactly who was to blame for that whole mess."

Her eyes are wide open, but she nods slowly, so he tells her, "You may also blame Finn for your mother becoming a Vampire.  However, what you don't know about that is that Esther used a witch's compulsion on him when he was a toddler, and I suspect she did it a second time after we were revived in October."

Kol pauses with a frown firmly on his face then he softly confides in the teen witch, "I spent just over four centuries with him on The Otherside, so I know to my core that he would not have tried to harm any of us without Esther forcing him to do so.  I just wish my memories hadn't been so jumbled and I had realized what was happening before he died.  Not that there is much I would have been able to do to help him because if the witch is unwilling to remove the compulsion only the death of the witch or the end of the person being compelled could remove the compulsion.  So, there would have been little any of us could do to help him other than kill Esther, which we were already trying to do, but I still wish I remembered what she had done when he was a child sooner.

Her eyes are wide, "She compelled her own son to help her kill her children, his own siblings?"

He nods and tells her, "Yes, I know Finn well enough to know that that's the only reason he would have tried to harm us.  Yes, he never liked what we became, honestly neither did I.  And yes, Finn often called our actions monstrous, and I'll admit he usually wasn't wrong either, but he would never try to kill any of us or _anyone_ for that matter.  In his mind doing such a thing would make him just as guilty of monstrous actions as the rest of us were.  Furthermore, the unknown vampires out in the world minding their own business that would have died if our entire family died would have stopped him from trying to harm us even if his love for us wouldn't, which I think it would have.  No, he would not have risked the death of some random vampire that isn't a monster, not even to right the balance.  To Finn, righting the wrong our mother committed a thousand plus years ago would not be worth risking killing even one innocent person, vampire or not."

Kol briefly looks at Bonnie sitting beside him for a moment before bringing his eyes back to the road in front of him and then says, "Although Finn was unhappy as a vampire after Esther died the first time he was fiercely loyal to all of us despite his disapproval of our behavior.  Therefore, I'm certain nothing he did once Esther revealed herself to us was of his own free will.  I remember that night clearly.  He was the soft-spoken but fiercely loyal and always loving brother I knew after our turning and on The Otherside.  Then shortly after she walked into the room, she asked to speak to him alone.  I don't know why he went, probably to confront her, but I have no doubt in my mind that that's when she did it the second time."

My granddaughter nods so he tells her, "Back to my point, really the only time any of us attacked your group of our own free will without us first being attacked by _someone_ was when Nik regrettably tried to have Jeremy hit by a car to get Ms. Gilbert to do what he wanted and give him her blood."

After pausing a moment to let her contemplate his statement, my grandbaby reluctantly nods before he tells her, "We're not all that different than you and your merry band of warriors.  We have those we love, and they are our everything.  We would turn the world inside out and upside down to protect or avenge them.  Correct me if I'm wrong, but you and yours have essentially done the same thing." 

Everyone in the car, Bonnie included knows he's right.  She and her friends, well everyone except Elena, anyhow, would all move heaven and earth to protect each other.  I mean Jeremy allowed Kol to cut off his arms to save the rest of them from certain death, and Kol's family is the same way.  That is rightly so too because nothing is more important than family whether it's by blood relation or the family of your heart.

Kol smiles slightly and tells Bonnie, "Aside from the fact that I am about one month over 1,029-years-old and a vampire who has killed many people, you and I are not all that different.  I didn't miss the part when you were speaking with Damon, and you said you killed the professor."

She flinches at that, and I can see in her mind that every time she has a slow moment and the freedom to think about random things the feeling of Atticus' life slipping away invades her thoughts and plays on repeat in her mind.  In those moments, she conjures up memories of happier times, everything from sleep-overs with Elena and Caroline when they were younger to talking about witchcraft with me more recently.  No matter what she tries to think about, though, in the slow moments, her mind always comes back to the feel of that predator's life stuttering to a stop because of her. 

Kol knows she likely does not currently trust him enough to discuss the finer details of Atticus' death, though.  So, he continues as if he didn't notice her reaction to his words though she knows he did, in fact, notice, "He was in police custody and alive yesterday afternoon when I went looking for him, so that means you killed him last night, probably after you and I parted ways.  So, you can't even use the fact that I've killed people to differentiate us because apparently, you're willing to kill too.  If I asked you why you did it, I wager you'd say it was to protect your loved ones and the world at large, the very same reasons I attacked you and your friends last night."

She nods for a moment but then shakes her head before responding with a bit more attitude than she genuinely has any right to display.  However, we all realize it's a very touchy subject for her.  Kol knowingly touched that nerve, so he grits his teeth and holds back his own anger when she hotly tells him, "Even if I admit that you're right about my reasons _and_ yours, I killed one person to save my loved ones and the world.  How many people have you killed?  Because I'm willing to bet my sizable trust fund that most of your victims weren't out to destroy the world _or_ your family."

Kol's muscles tense.  Despite what she and her friends think he doesn't enjoy killing people.  In fact, if he could make it so that he had never killed anyone and never will again, he would do it in one of Bonnie's fast little heartbeats. 

Her shoulders are tense too, and she has wide eyes, and her mouth is forming a little 'o' as if she's surprised by her own words, and maybe she is.  She's obviously waiting for him to explode all over her.  If she were anyone else, he probably would.  However, instead he just frowns before he glances at her for a second or two, and then he looks back at the road and says, "I will admit that I have killed probably far more than my fair share of innocent people.  To answer your question, I've unfortunately killed approximately 333,446 humans and about 1,516 werewolves, maybe 3,318 vampires, no more than 237 witches, though most of those witches attacked me or mine first.  Regardless those are the numbers give or take a dozen or so of each in my 1,009 years as a vampire."

My baby girl's hazel eyes widen, and her thoughts are clear, _'He actually counted?  Talk about sick.'_  She opens her mouth to say something rude when he intercepts her and says, "And before you ask, yes I kept track the best I could because it felt wrong to kill them and then just forget them as if their lives had no meaning."

Now her eyes widen, and her jaw drops, _'Whoa, that's not why I thought he was counting.'_  

He continues to show her just how wrong her shallow and negative thoughts about his behavior truly are by telling her, "I even have books with the names of the ones whose names I knew or could figure out written down.  That way so long as _I_ am alive _someone_ remembers them and the fact that I, more often than not, unjustly took their lives long before they were probably meant to die.  I mean I don't recall ever killing a child or a pregnant woman, so most of my victims fell somewhere between your age and your father's age with a much smaller percentage between your father and your grandmother's age groups.  Few were particularly old even if only because most humans didn't live to be much older than 30 or 40 back when I was born.  In fact, if I had been human and not a witch, I would have probably already been more than halfway through my short life when our mother turned us."

Kol glances at Bonnie sitting beside him and at the frown she's sporting he tells her, "I didn't just kill to kill, not really.  I always had a reason, even if it was a particularly poor reason.  With very few exceptions I felt horrible about the violence I perpetrated as soon as it was over, and I'd had a chance to calm down.  Before turning, I had an incredibly short fuse compared to the rest of my family and fact of the matter is most of the deaths I caused after I turned were me trying to acclimate to life with increased emotions and an out of control bloodlust that reacted to those increased emotions with a hairpin trigger.  In addition to that, it was also me trying to acclimate to life without my magick, the loss of which just exacerbated my newly heightened emotions as well as the sensitivity of the hairpin trigger."

He pauses and takes a deep breath before he continues and tells her, "You don't have your magick right now, so I'm sure that you can understand just how jarring and unsettling the experience was and still is.  For the record, I was a prodigy, so it was the major element in my life from when I was about four or five autumns old, and then suddenly it was stolen from me."

Bonnie's head that had been facing forward whips around and looks at him when the word prodigy passes his lips.  Her eyes are wide, and she purses her mouth while she repeats his words in her mind.  She frowns.  If she's honest with herself, she will admit that she probably would have killed people too if she were immersed in her magick as much as Kol was and for as long.  Even if she does admit it to herself, I still know that she'll never admit that out loud, but I also know it's still true. 

Kol is 1,029-years-old, and he's been a vampire for 1,009 years, which means he was about three weeks shy of 20-years-old when they turned.  He had access to his magick for more than fifteen years because he began using magick regularly when he was around four years old.  Because he was a prodigy that means that what he could do at each milestone was much more than the average witch would have been capable of too, so he felt the loss of his magick that much more deeply.  If she had been in his exact position, I can't guarantee she wouldn't have reacted the same way, and I'm sure she wouldn't be able to ensure it either.  In fact, I'm inclined to think she would have reacted exactly the way he did.  Now, that knowledge is only on her peripheral, so she hasn't admitted it to herself just yet.  That self-awareness she's been developing of late does not please her, but I think she's at the point in her life where she won't lie to herself about who and what she truly is.  She's not perfect, and I think her experiences with dark magick have brought her to a place where she's slowly admitting that to herself, even if she is still unwilling to admit it to anyone else at this point.

If you throw in the bloodlust, and the fact that his magick was such a significant part of the original's human life, and then suddenly it was just gone and no longer accessible to him, she can understand why he reacted the way he did.  If she's brutally honest with herself based on her own reaction to losing her magick this last month, I think if she were in his shoes she might very well have reacted even worse than he did. 

According to Finn, Kol once had a witch offer to use dark magick to try to return his magick to him, and he flat out turned her down despite how badly he wanted his magick back.  He wasn't willing to touch the dark to do it, though, and although I know Bonnie didn't realize what Atticus was teaching her until it was too late, I'm also confident she wouldn't have been able to pass up the opportunity, or at least not currently.  When Kol finishes teaching her, she will never have any desire to touch the dark ever again, and she will not only know better than to try but she'll actively work to avoid using it. 

She's frowning when Kol continues, "I admit I reacted poorly, but I have mellowed over time.  I was also serious about not handling boredom very well.  I really do get into all sorts of mischief when I'm left without something productive to do, and while I realize that's a terrible excuse to have killed people I didn't exactly have the best role models growing up, so it's taken me longer to set myself straight as it were.  I mean you met Esther, but did you ever meet Mikael?"

Her mouth opens, and words come out, but I'm not sure it's willing on her part.  Still, the words hit their mark and remind him that he is far from perfect, "It's more than a terrible excuse it's inexcusable.  You killed innocent people because of boredom?  That's monstrous." 

Kol bobs his head up and down slowly, and everyone in the car knows that Bonnie wouldn't have done _that_ no matter what the circumstance might have been. 

She's still frowning though when she shakes her head in the negative and says, "I never actually met Mikael, but I've heard about him from multiple sources." 

He nods and tells her honestly, "Consider yourself lucky then.  The man spent our human lives toying with us and beating us into submission and then spent the next thousand years toying with us while he hunted us, his own children, and slaughtering whomever he felt was necessary to get to us all because he didn't like that we chose Nik over him."

Her mouth opens again, and words come out once more, and I'm sure she wasn't planning to say them, but she does all the same.  They bring Kol, and I'm sure Finn and Henri both, a bit of comfort that she understands a little of what he and his siblings went through with Mikael, "God, I can't even imagine how betrayed you all felt when Mikael began hunting you.  I mean your own father wanted you dead, and if you're to be believed, and I see no reason that you would lie about this, it was because you all sided with your brother over your abusive father.  No one should be made to choose between family members whether they're abusive or not."

She doesn't quite understand the enormity of what they went through when they became vampires, though, so she's frowning deeply before Kol glowers and tells her, "None of us except Mikael asked to become vampires." 

Her jaw drops for a second before it snaps closed, and she quickly asks, "Wait, he asked to become a vampire?  Clearly, I missed that part of the story.  He actually asked for it?"

Kol, Finn, and Henri all frown and Kol looks at her briefly before bringing his eyes back to the road, and then he nods and asks, "Have you not heard the story of how we came to be vampires?  I assumed Ms. Gilbert would have told you and all of your friends everything my sister told her about that time in our lives."

My granddaughter frowns back and tells him honestly, "Elena told me the very broad basics.  She didn't really want to talk to me about it because I very strongly and loudly disagreed with her decision to dagger your sister not even taking into account the shitty way she went about it.  So, she only told me that your mother did it in response to someone close to your family dying in a werewolf attack."

The four Mikaelson children present and I all smile when she says she disagreed with Elena's actions.  Finn tells me, "Our sister already told Kol of a conversation she overheard, so we already know that both Bonnie and Ms. Forbes strongly disagreed with Ms. Gilbert's actions." 

That conversation Rebekah overheard was not the first of its kind, nor was it the last, so I know just how displeased my grandbaby was with her friend's actions.

Kol's frown deepens, and he shakes his head when she mentions why their parents turned them, so he tells her, "That's not even the bare basics because it completely overlooks the fact that the someone close to us was our younger brother Henrik."

Her eyes widen significantly, and she hurries to tell him, "Oh God, I'm sorry.  I didn't realize, or I wouldn't have brought it up so casually."

I know she wouldn't have said it that way if she had any idea who exactly had died, and so does Kol, but then we all smile slightly when she pauses and then adds, "I'm sorry for your loss."

Kol nods and tells her, "Thank you.  Anyway, long story made slightly shorter, Henri was the youngest of us all, and he was fascinated by the wolves who lived in the village next to ours.  We would ordinarily spend the full moons underground in the catacombs that still to this day wind through Mystic Falls, far beneath the ground, to steer clear of the ravenous wolves, who unlike the recent hybrids did not retain much if any of their human minds while in animal form.  Therefore, even those we were friendly with the rest of the month were a genuine threat to our safety during The Full Moon.  The last full moon before we turned, Henri convinced Nik, who was, like all of us, wrapped around our youngest brother's little finger, to take him to go watch the wolves shift.  My understanding is that a late shifter got a little too close to Henri while shifting and gravely wounded our brother.  Nik carried him back as soon as it was safe to do so, but it was too late, and Henri died a few minutes later in Nik and 'Bekah's arms."

Kol pauses and takes a deep breath before slowly releasing it, and then he continues his story, "Nik obviously blamed himself and still does to this day, and Mikael wasted no time making sure Nik knew that _he_ blamed him too.  Henri's death more so than Esther's is why Mikael wanted to kill Nik and, therefore, the rest of us."

Freya, Henri, and Finn are nodding at his words.  Kol pauses again, but then he tells Bonnie his thoughts on his brother's death, "Nik had a hand in Henri dying, no question about that, but it wasn't his fault, or at least not entirely his fault.  Henri pestered him for days before he agreed, so as much as I hate to say it Henri is more to blame for his own death, and I know for a fact that he knew and fully understood the dangers because a wolf mauled and killed another man from our village only a couple months before Henri died.  However, Henri was Mikael's favorite, so the arse blamed Nik entirely because 'poor, perfect Henrik' couldn't have possibly done something he was told not to do without 'that worthless boy,' Nik, inducing him to do it."

Henri is nodding deeply. Apparently, he agrees with his older brother's assessment of what happened, and it appears Finn does as well because he's nodding almost as deeply as Henri.  I've heard the story from Henri enough to know that he ultimately caused his own death with only a small amount of help from Niklaus.

Henri turns to me and tells me, "I really did know the dangers, but I didn't care.  I think that was mostly due to my age at the time, but the fact remains I knew I was putting us both in danger and still worked on convincing Nik to take me to watch the wolves shift."

My eyes are wide, but I nod and tell him, "Hindsight is 20/20, as they say."

We both nod then look at Bonnie whose eyes are wide and round.  She's just staring at Kol before he glances at her and then says, "Don't get me wrong, I love Henri to this day, but he used the fact that he was the baby to his advantage every chance he got to get us to do what he wanted.  He'd bat his chestnut puppy dog eyes at us, and we'd cave, and he knew that.  I don't think he meant anything by it, but it's what led to his death, and I think Nik has far too much guilt about the whole incident, far more than he deserves in my opinion."

Henri nods again and says, "He's right I used my cuteness factor to my advantage every chance I got.  I hated it when people said no to me so I would use every resource that was available to me to convince them to change their mind.  What I don't think anyone other than Nik knows is I spent months, not days convincing Nik to do what I wanted.  The fact of the matter is, I was a spoiled brat, and I'm lucky my siblings still love me despite that fact."

Finn, Freya and I nod.  Finn puts his arms around the boy on his lap and squeezes gently before telling him, "We really do still love you despite your faults.  It's what family does, we forgive each other our mistakes.  You have done the same for us all these years, and our mistakes were far worse than yours ever were."

Placing his hand on top of his brother's arm Henri squeezes but says nothing.

Bonnie is nodding at Kol's words, and Kol nods back and then says, "Back to Mikael, I suspect that he knew Esther had indiscretions with a wolf named Ansel, and that is why he hated the wolves more than most of the people in our village.  I'm convinced that he didn't yet know for certain that Nik wasn't his child, though.  However, I'm also sure he suspected simply because of how horribly Finn and Elijah say Mikael treated Nik from the moment he was born.  Regardless, after Henri died, Mikael spoke with Esther and convinced her to find a way to protect us all and make sure the wolves wouldn't be able to kill any more of us."

Finn frowns and tells us, "It's always amazed me that Mikael didn't forbid her from giving Niklaus the potion because of his involvement with Henrik's death, but I suppose father knew she'd either disobey him or refuse to spell _any_ of us if _all_ of her children weren't included." 

I just nod before Kol continues telling my granddaughter, "Her search resulted in her stealing Ayana's family grimoire and finding The Immortality Spell within the pages.  She secretly mixed the herbs and made the potion after which Esther sat us all down and had us all drink the concoction.  Then to our surprise, Mikael quickly went from person to person and stabbed us in the heart killing us.  Most of us died instantly, but he didn't quite hit the mark with me, so I lingered for a few minutes drowning in my own blood while it filled my lungs before he realized I was still alive, and he finished me off."

Bonnie thinks, _'Oh my God, he didn't die right away?  Wow.  I can't imagine the fear he had when he watched his father kill his siblings or the incredible pain and fear he felt when he then had to lay there drowning in his own blood.  They apparently had no idea they'd be coming back alive, or undead, whatever, so he had to be thinking, while he lay there slowly drowning, that his parents had decided to kill them all.'_

She knows that doing The Immortality Spell was wrong, but she wonders, _'What kind of person kills their children, even if they know they're going to come back to life.  More specifically if you know they're coming back why wouldn't you at least explain it to them and warn them so that they wouldn't be scared.'_  

She pauses and really thinks about that question.  The Mikaelson children were witches so they would have known the magick would work.  If they had been aware of what their mother was doing, they wouldn't have been so scared when Mikael stabbed each of them in the heart before Esther turned them into monsters.  Then again, even Bonnie knows that the spell The Original Witch did was the blackest of the black, so it stands to reason that her children in all likelihood would have objected on principle alone, maybe.  Henri's death upset them greatly, so I can't say for sure that they would have objected but I think Kol would have and my granddaughter tends to agree with my opinion on that subject. 

The Mikaelson children didn’t know much about dark magick at the time, so Bonnie is correct when she thinks _'Maybe they wouldn't have objected, but if Kol was a prodigy, then he probably knew better.'_ The teen nods to herself before she continues the thought, _'That has to be why their parents didn't warn them because Kol might have been powerful enough to stop them even if his other siblings weren't strong enough.'_

Finn smiles and tells us, "She's smart.  Kol would have told all of us all the reasons doing the spell would be a bad idea and he would have convinced all of us, except Mikael that it would be too dangerous.  I like to think we would have listened to our brother if he had warned us." 

I think they would have.

Bonnie already hates Esther for what she did to _our_ family, but now my granddaughter's fists are clenching, and her teeth are grinding for what the ancient witch did to _her own_ family. 

Elena told Bonnie that none of them, other than Mikael, were violent or evil before they turned, so really Esther, at her husband's request, ruined their children's lives before she ruined other people's lives through the actions of the monsters she personally created.

Kol is still talking, so she focuses back on his words when he says, "When we woke it was with an intense thirst and hunger for some unknown thing and a severe sensitivity to the sun, which was shining brightly outside our hut.  Mother found the proper spell in Ayana's book and made us daylight rings and then we went out and explored."

His fists clench around the steering wheel and the plastic groans a bit under the stress.  I understand his distress because he, more than the rest of them, lost everything that day and he hates talking about what happened next, but he still tells her, "It didn't take long for each of us to come across someone who had injured themselves.  In my case the woman, Eija had tripped and scraped her knee.  Even just the little tiny bit of blood from that scrape was enough to set me off.  She… she was my betrothed and I… well I'm sad to admit that I lost control and the last thing my love knew was the terrible truth that the man she loved was now a monster who was killing her."

He pauses and discreetly wipes at his eyes with one hand before taking a deep breath and then slowly releasing it. 

Bonnie thinks, _'God, even over a thousand years later the pain is obviously so very fresh.  I wish I could beat Esther and Mikael silly for what they did to Kol and his siblings.  I was right.  Their parents ruined their lives and turned them into monsters who were completely incapable of controlling themselves because it's obvious if Kol could have stopped he would have spared his love's life.'_

Her thoughts pause then she thinks, _'Esther might not have stood there and said, 'Kill Eija,' but she forced him to kill her all the same.  His own mother took away the woman he loved and did so by forcing him to kill her with his own hands, or teeth, as the case was.  I know Esther is probably on The Otherside right now, but I wish that she's suffering more than she probably is because I'm only just beginning to realize the true scope of the evil she inflicted not just on the world but on her own flesh and blood.'_

The Original Bitch is definitely on this side of The Veil and trying to think up ways to get back to the living world so that she can finish what she attempted to do a month ago.

She, to my knowledge, is still feeling the pain of any of her children's victims but the fact of the matter is most of them haven't killed anyone in some time, and I think Niklaus is the only one who has killed since Esther died again.  Well, actually Niklaus killed all those people turning them into vampires so that Jeremy could grow his tattoo and then Kol murdered all of them a second time to keep the young hunter from getting any closer to finding Silas' tomb.  Therefore, I suppose the bitch has felt a bit of pain since she died the second time, but I agree whatever pain she _has_ felt is not nearly as much as she deserves.

Kol takes another deep breath, and after releasing it even slower than the last, he looks at Bonnie sitting beside him and frowning he tells her, "Now you need to realize that none of my siblings nor I delved into the dark magick our mother was so fond of towards the end of her life.  Actually, _no one_ in our Village, not even Ayana, touched the dark, except our mother, so the truth is we didn't even know that transitioning was a possibility.  Even if we had, I doubt any of us would have chosen it.  I certainly wouldn't have simply because I knew even then that dark magick always comes with a price you don't actually want to pay.  Her disregard for the danger that casting that spell would pose for, not just us, but for the world at large ultimately cost Eija her life and by my own hand no less."

He pauses and then sighs before he tells Bonnie, "Honestly, except Mikael, we were for the most part gentle, peaceful, loving individuals before turning, though I can readily admit that I, more than the others, had a short fuse even while human."

Bonnie is frowning while he talks because it's exactly like she thought it was.  Esther knew that at least Kol was aware enough to know of the danger she was planning to put everyone in, and that is undoubtedly why Esther and Mikael didn't warn any of their children about what they were doing to them.

Kol sighs again and tells her, "Unfortunately, my fuse got infinitely shorter once I woke in transition, and to tell you the truth if Nik hadn't killed Esther after she cursed him I probably would have to avenge Eija's death.  God knows Mikael went on a rampage and killed every wolf he could find sparking a feud between vampires and wolves that wages on just as strongly even today.  Then of course after trying to eradicate an entire species the abusive arse came after us."

Bonnie heard enough from Elena about what Rebekah told her even without what Kol has told her today to know that Mikael was indeed abusive at best and downright monstrous to his own children at worst, and then he became a vampire and that amplified his emotions including his rage. 

Kol seems to agree when he says, "And the bloodlust, well when that happened _none_ of us were prepared for it.  I was one of the unfortunate fools I spoke of earlier who took damn near three centuries before I could be within a thousand metres of an open wound and not go berserk and kill everyone who was within a kilometre of the wound.  And it took many, many more centuries before I could get angry or jealous and not automatically kill everyone present in my rage, and honestly, I still struggle with my anger and jealousy at times.  Though, both are far less likely to cause me to kill now than they were when I first transitioned."

Bonnie's eyes widen at his words, and she thinks, _'Damn, that's almost 11 football fields, and it took him most of 300 years to be able to be that close to an open wound and not kill everyone?  And it was centuries more before he got the rage under control?  Just how difficult is it?'_  

She heard him earlier, but I don't think it really registered how difficult it is because the only experience she has with it is watching her two best friends who both seem to do alright.  She frowns and thinks, _'Then again Stefan has been a vampire for over 145 years, and he still goes bonkers in the presence of human blood.  Then there is Damon who when he's angry or hurt lashes out at the nearest person and damn the consequences, so I suppose each person is different even without the sire taking the steps Kol mentioned earlier to make the progeny's vampire life easier to live with.'_

Kol is still frowning when he tells my baby girl a closely guarded secret, "The only thing I can say to my credit is that I never turned my switch off because I felt that would be cheating.  If I was quote-unquote 'man enough' or 'badass enough' to take, more often than not, completely innocent lives, then I should also be man enough to deal with the emotional consequences of my actions."

My granddaughter's mouth is forming a little 'o' while she ponders his words, _'Okay Wow, that... Just wow.  It had to take an incredible amount of willpower to resist the urge to turn off the guilt that I'm beginning to realize Kol is still plagued with to this day.'_

Kol nods lazily and tells Bonnie, "None of my siblings' or my difficulties acclimating were our own fault either.  It was Esther and Mikael's faults because they chose to use dark magick to solve a problem that didn't require such drastic measures, and therefore, _they_ chose this life for us.  While I realize that Esther tried to right the wrong she said she committed, in reality, she was punishing her victims for not reacting in a way _she_ approved of, and I highly doubt there were any noble intentions on her part."

He frowns then says, "In fact, she mentioned feeling the pain of each of our victims all these years, and I firmly believe that _that's_ likely why she tried to kill us; the selfish bitch did it to stop feeling the pain of our victims who were, when you come down to it, in actuality _her_ victims.  Her efforts really had little to nothing to do with her trying to undo the quote-unquote 'evil' she perpetrated on the world like she said."

Kol pauses and grips the steering wheel tightly once more causing it to creak under the strain again then he says, "If you ask me, she deserves to feel the pain of every single last person we've ever hurt.  Without her, and her use of _major_ dark magick, we would not have become what we are, and every single last one of our victims would not have died at our hands."

Bonnie and I both agree with him there.  Every death caused by the Mikaelson children _and_ their descendants is The Original Witch's fault, and every drop of blood shed by _any_ vampire _ever_ is on Esther's hands.  I agree with Kol's belief about his mother's motives for trying to kill her children, too.  I mean my granddaughter was, at first, willing to help, but that was because she thought it would save her friends from Niklaus, _and_ she didn't know it would kill _every_ vampire in existence.  Esther, on the other hand, seemed more maniacal in her insistence that her children die.  My grandbaby and I both also tend to agree that Esther was ultimately trying to punish her victims for her own wrongdoings. 

Bonnie frowns and thinks, _‘What I know of the bloodlust, including what Kol just told me, tells me that the Mikaelsons wouldn't have necessarily been able to control it at first, so in that sense, the deaths weren't their fault until they gained control and then continued killing.  Though, I can admit that if you spend centuries out of control killing willy-nilly, then it probably wouldn't be a stretch for you to continue the trend even after you gain control of yourself simply because killing would be all that you had known for hundreds of years.’_

She shakes her head ever so slightly, _'That means it's likely a miracle and an act of God, Himself, that the Mikaelsons haven't caused widespread bloodbaths while they've been here.'_

She stops and focuses on Kol's words again and frowns deeper when he tells her, "However, killing an entire species would have upset the balance and done far more harm than good.  Nature righted the balance and made vampires and wolves each other's checks and balances, so to speak.  If Esther had killed every vampire in existence, then there would have been no one left to keep the wolves in check.  Not to mention that at least hundreds of thousands of people, if not millions, would have been killed when we died, and there's nothing to say that all of them are quote-unquote 'evil.'"

My baby girl nods even while she's still frowning, _'Okay he has a point there as well.  Killing all those vampires would have upset the balance far worse than their existences ever did.  And he's also right about the uncertainty of the evilness of every vampire.  I remember Elena telling me about Stefan's friend Lexi.  She helped get Stefan off human blood a couple of times, if I recall correctly, so she wasn’t evil.  And I can grudgingly admit that Damon's not all bad when his switch is on.  I mean anyone who loves as wholly and selflessly as he obviously loves Elena must be worth saving right?  Plus, my two best friends aren't even remotely evil.'_

Kol turns and looks at Bonnie briefly before he tells her, "Anyway, have I done terrible things in my life?  Definitely.  Have I done far worse things than you probably ever will?  Again, the answer to that is probably yes, or at least I hope it's true.  Am I sorry for the death, pain, and mayhem I've caused, and do I regret my less than noble actions?  In most cases, the answer to that is also yes.”

He glances at her and then says, “Although, I will admit that there were a few who deserved everything I gave them and so much more.  They would fall under the category of defending or avenging myself or my loved ones, though, which we've already ascertained you do as well."

My granddaughter pulls up short at that.  Kol's words throughout this entire conversation seem genuine to her, including his expressing remorse about his 'less than noble actions' so she thinks, _'Perhaps he's not as evil as he appears at first glance.  I mean he works to remember every one of his victims in a weird way of showing his respect towards them, not to mention his obvious pain over the death of the woman he loved.  Both of those things imply regret over his actions just as much as, if not more so than, his words just now do.'_

I smile slightly when she recalls one of my favorite expressions.  I'd always tell her, 'Baby Girl, never judge a book by its cover.'  Truer words have probably never been spoken when judging the overall character and personality of Kol Mikaelson.

She nods slightly when Kol says, "The point is we're all works in progress, and while I definitely have more work to do than most in terms of being a decent person that doesn't mean I'm incapable of caring."

She thinks that the mere fact that he's willing to admit that he needs to work on being a better person means he's worth saving, _and_ she never thought he was incapable of caring.  She only wondered why he cares how _she_ feels.

Kol smiles and says, "I told you last night that I've called many witches my friends, and I've even loved two of them deeply and passionately.  You may not believe me, Bonnie, but I care what happens to you and what you're feeling."

When she woke up this morning, my granddaughter didn’t think Kol gave two hoots about her and her feelings or welfare, but she's beginning to realize that because they technically barely know each other she may have underestimated his investment in her and her life.  He still seems genuine to her, though, so she finds herself nodding and agreeing that, yes, he probably does care for her in his own way.

Kol cuts his chocolate eyes towards Bonnie while he drives and says, "I was serious last night when I said it takes a lot to impress me, and you definitely did exactly that."  He pauses then adds, "I'm not talking about your use of magick either because that Expression shit, more often than not, gets good witches dead faster than they should be."

After pausing again he shakes his head in the negative and tells her, "No, to save your loved ones you ran headfirst into a situation you knew full well was incredibly dangerous, you thought quickly on your feet, decided the best route to ensure as many of us survived as possible, and then you took action.  You took that action knowing full well that your snotty, judgmental, and, in my opinion, wholly undeserving, best friend will take years to forgive you if she ever does.  You, Darling, put the welfare of everyone else above your own feelings and happiness by risking Ms. Gilbert's ire."

He's right again.  My granddaughter loves Elena, but she knows full well that she'll be lucky if Elena ever forgives her for helping chop off Jeremy's arms never mind for her involvement in preventing her friend from regaining her human state of being.  Bonnie honestly couldn't see any other way to save everyone, though, so there really wasn't another option.  To be fair, I couldn't then and still can't see another option that would have prevented her very frightening premonition from coming true or, worse yet, Silas rising.  Either event would have caused everyone she loves to die gruesome deaths, so she did the right thing even though we both know full well that Elena won't see it that way.

Kol's not done praising her, though, so he says, "Incidentally, you did the same thing when you decided to kill the professor too.  I wager you knew you'd be saddled with the guilt of his death for the rest of your life, but you still chose to do it because it was the only way to protect everyone you care about."

She dejectedly thinks, _'I wish he hadn't brought that up.  I had managed to finally go ten minutes without thinking about what I did to Shane.'_

She just nods, though, so he continues, "However, I get the sense that while you care deeply for others and make great personal sacrifices for your loved ones, hardly anyone is much interested in your pain and heartache."

That's true too, her friends often overlook her pain or perspective on things.  They're usually too busy worrying about their own issues to notice hers, but she thinks, _‘I’m mostly okay with that because generally, their issues are more life or death than mine usually are.’_

Deep down, though, it does really bother her even if she's unwilling to admit that, even to herself, at this point. 

I smile slightly, though, when Kol says, "I know I'm probably the last person you want to call your friend, but I am your friend, Bonnie, and I do care about the pain you’re in as well as any needs you might have that aren't being fulfilled by the other people in your life."

After this conversation, she thinks there are worse people she could call her friend, and the idea that someone cares about her and her pain and needs is incredibly comforting.  She frowns and thinks, _'Now, he could just be saying it to get me comfortable with him, so he can win me over to his side or kill me or something equally evil, but I still think he's 100% genuine,'_ so she discards the thought.

Kol pauses, and it would be the perfect time for her to tell him she doesn't mind calling him her friend but the words just won't come to her.  After a minute, he begins to fill the silence again, "Little known fact about vampires: Our condition gives us Eidetic Memory.  So, I remember, as if it just happened, the heartache of waking up covered in blood and surrounded by the dead bodies of my friends and neighbors in our village, as well as the crack in my heart when I realized I was the one who made them dead."

My baby girl silently laments, _'Okay, wow, that sucks.  Not just that he killed people, and people he knew and cared about at that, but I still, after everything he's said to me today, can't even begin to imagine the pain that he must have gone through when he realized he had been turned into a blood hungry monster by his own parents.'_  

The good news she tells herself, _‘Is that I don’t have Eidetic Memory, so eventually, the memory of feeling Shane’s life slip away will fade into a more manageable ache rather than the searing pain it currently is, or at least that is my hope.’_  

Kol smiles and says, "Like I said we're not all that different you and me.  Circumstances beyond either of our control have caused us to do terrible things.  The only difference is that I've been stuck in those circumstances for far longer than you have been and therefore have accumulated far more sins than you have in your relatively brief time as an active witch."

He's right once again, though they appear, at first glance, to be vastly different individuals, in reality, behind their masks, the two of them are really cut from the same cloth.

He flips the blinker again before pulling into a parallel parking space by the local coffee shop.  My granddaughter giggles and thinks, _'He parallel parks better than I do.'_

Smiling, he asks, "What has you giggling, Little Witch?"

Grinning brightly, she tells him, "Nothing, it's just… you've been locked in a coffin for 100 years and have only been driving in modern times for a little over a month, yet you parallel park way better than I do, and I've been driving since I was 16."

Kol smiles back at her and says, "What can I say?  I'm just a natural."

She nods, and once the car is in park, he turns off the car before getting out, walking to her door, and opening it for her.  When he reaches his hand down towards her, she finds herself taking it while he helps her out of the car.  Smiling softly, he says, "Come on, Darling, your coffee is on me, and I'll behave so I won't even compel the teller into thinking I paid when I didn't."

Laughing at that she begins walking, sighing slightly when his hand goes to the small of her back causing her to think, _'I don't know what it is about a guy guiding me with their hand in the small of my back, but it always makes me want to swoon, and this time is no different.'_  

She focuses on putting one foot in front of the other, though, instead of swooning and making a fool of herself in front of _'the ancient, sexy as sin vampire.'_

That promise she made to herself earlier that she's not going to crush on the 'Happy Homicidal Maniac' is becoming harder and harder to keep.  Kol is saying and doing all the right things, so with every passing second, she spends in his company, she falls for his charm just a tiny bit more.


	5. There's the Rub

**______________________________________________________________________________**

**Chapter 005**

**There's the Rub**

**______________________________________________________________________________**

**Friday, December 03, 2010, 9:15 a.m.**

**Mystic Falls' Coffee Shop**

**______________________________________________________________________________**

The ever gentlemanly Kol holds the door open for Bonnie and then follows her into the busy coffee shop.  Reading the menu over quickly, he thinks, _‘Everything on this menu has far too much sugar and other unnecessary things added to it.  Plain, perhaps slightly boring, hot, black coffee, it is.’_  

Turning to Bonnie, he smiles and tells her, "I miss the days when coffee was simply served hot and either black or with a bit of cream and sugar.  I honestly don't even know what half the things on that board are."

She giggles while she looks up at him and says, "I'd miss my iced mocha if it didn't exist, but I can admit that the sheer number of options can probably be overwhelming to someone who has never heard of any of them before.  I highly recommend the iced mocha or the iced mochaccino, though."

He smiles wider and tells her, "I think I'll stick with my regular, plain, hot, black coffee."

My granddaughter giggles again and tells him, "Oh live a little, Kol.  Try something new.  For all you know you'll love whichever you try, and you'll have a new regular."

At his drawn eyebrows and a slight shake of his head, my ever-optimistic baby girl smiles gently and continues her argument, "I mean you tried the Model T when it first came out, and that was new and exciting, right?  So, this could be too."

His features smooth out before he smiles indulgently at her and tells her, "I'm perfectly happy not broadening my coffee horizons, Darling."

At her quickly growing frown he smiles softly and tells her honestly, "I'll drink hot black coffee with different beans from all over the world, and I've even tried a few flavored coffees, such as Hazelnut.  However, correct me if I'm wrong, but most of the drinks on that list up there have an enormous number of things added to the coffee after it's brewed."

She nods slowly, so he finishes his point, "I've never even taken cream _or_ sugar with my coffee, so I can't imagine I'd enjoy the certain creamy sweetness of any of those drinks."

Her face loses its frown before he smiles widely again and says, "Besides I read an article the other day that said that humans in this day and age are addicted to sugar and that the amount of it that's added to most everything is incredibly unhealthy and is certainly why your country has an obesity epidemic."

She smiles while they move up a spot in the line and then tells him, "Okay I can see how if you've never even taken cream _or_ sugar then you probably wouldn't like most of the offerings up there."

He nods slowly.  A moment later she frowns slightly again and tells him, "And for the record, the amount of sugar added to everything is crazy.  It's why I try to cook homemade meals for my dad and me whenever possible.  A homemade recipe might have some sugar or even a little corn syrup in it, but it doesn't have the insane amount of sugar or all the high fructose corn syrup or any number of artificial sweeteners and chemicals that processed food has in it."

She pauses and then adds as an afterthought, "Don't even get me started on the amount of sodium in processed and prepackaged foods.  The crazy amount of salt in everything is why so many people die of heart attacks these days.  The rate of heart disease today has drastically increased from days gone by." 

Kol nods because he's read articles that support her claims since he woke up in his coffin.  He and his sister have been learning about all the new, or new to them, information about healthy nutrition.  It's why Rebekah has been trying to cook their meals for them so she can utilize the hundreds, if not thousands, of cookbooks she's gotten on her tablet.  She correctly insists it's healthier than the pre-made items the grocery store sells. 

Kol tends to agree with his baby sister on that, although, usually Rebekah has an enormous amount of questions about why a recipe says to do one thing or another, and he's just as clueless about modern cooking practices as his sister is, so he's absolutely no help to her in answering her questions. 

He wonders, _'Perhaps Bonnie will be able to answer our questions.  I'll have to keep that in mind, and when we get a little closer perhaps suggest that she come and give us cooking lessons.  Given what I know of her I think she'd enjoy it probably as much as we would, maybe even more so.'_

Bonnie pauses with a frown on her pretty little face that reminds me of my mother's frown and then she says quietly, "Lately my dad has been eating out a lot, though, because he's been working late most nights.  It used to be, I'd cook him breakfast and dinner and even make him a lunch to take to work with him.  I still make breakfast and lunch for him, but I think he and Caroline's mom usually order fast food most nights.  I'm convinced it's why he's slightly overweight.  I mean not a lot, but enough that I notice he's not as thin or fit as he was when I was little."

He really has gained weight.  Kol wouldn't know what he looked like beforehand, though, so he takes Bonnie at her word and nods and then decides to plant a seed, so he asks, "Maybe you could come over sometime and teach Beks and me how to cook properly.  She has a large number of cookbooks on her new Kindle.  However, we often don't understand why things are done a certain way, and if I had a penny for every time we had to look up a word to understand the instructions I'd be, well I'm already wealthy, but I'd be much wealthier than I already am."

Bonnie giggles at that and nods before she says, "Grams taught me how to cook from a pretty early age.  Some of my fondest memories are of us cooking in her kitchen when I was a little girl, and by little, I mean I had to stand on a kitchen chair to reach the counter and help."

I smile when she pauses because those are some of my fondest memories too.  She continues her thought a moment later, "Anyway, I love cooking so I might be persuaded into helping you all learn to cook healthy meals.  I never really stopped to think about the differences in cooking and food in general compared to how it was when you were alive.  I have some pretty good family recipes too that you guys might enjoy."

She pauses and reflects on what she just said then she adds, "I'll think about the ramifications of my teaching you guys to cook and get back to you, although if you get your way and you end up teaching me magick, it might be fair that I teach you guys something in return."

That's my girl, always doing the fair and right thing.  My companions are nodding even before Kol nods and tells my generous grandbaby, "I would be amenable to making a trade of that sort with you, and I think my sister would be as well.  While she was not as skilled at magick as I was she was still incredibly talented.  All my siblings were much more powerful than Esther was by the time we were a decade old.  You should note that I'm comparing _our_ abilities at age _ten_ to _her_ abilities as _a grown adult_ with adult children, so even though my siblings were not nearly as proficient at magick as I was they were all quite talented, and, therefore, they could all probably assist you in your studies as much as I can."

Her green eyes are wide before she asks him, "You were all more powerful than your mother when you were ten years old?  She was not weak."

Kol smiles and rests his hand on her arm before he tells her, "When you met her the power she was using was that of _your_ entire family line so that power is yours, _not_ hers.  However, when she was alive, well, before she turned to dark magick anyway, she was highly talented, and her children were all far more exceptional than she ever was. 

The fact of the matter is, she was well respected in our community for having birthed so many powerful witches.  Mikael hated that the boys in our family did magick because he thought it should be women's work only, but it brought our family enough prestige that he allowed us to learn and practice the craft."

After a brief pause to take a breath he doesn't really need, he smiles and confides in his young companion, "Personally, I was more powerful than our mother from the first time I lost my temper and set her skirt on fire.  I was just about three months shy of four autumns old when that happened, and I was, at the time, particularly displeased about something she told me to do."

Bonnie giggles again and asks, "Were you a rebel that young?"

He lazily bobs his head and tells her, "Absolutely."

She nods back with a big smile on her face before they move up to the counter, so he tells Bonnie, "Lady's first."

She smiles and tells the woman behind the counter, "Hi Lisa, I'll take my usual medium iced mocha, please."

The barista smiles and while she nods and writes Bonnie's order on a plastic cup the employee asks, "Okay, Bonnie and what can I get for your friend?"   Then she looks up from the cup and her eyes widen when they land on Kol before she smiles what is obviously supposed to be a flirty smile and she pushes out her rather small chest towards him before she asks, "So, Bonnie's Friend, see anything here you'd like?"

It's a struggle not to burst out laughing at the woman's overly obvious, not to mention excessively ambitious, attempt at flirting with him _or_ his response to it.  He smiles gently in deference to the fact that this woman is apparently friends with Bonnie and looking pointedly at my grandbaby he says, "As a matter of fact, yes I do."  Freya, Finn, Henri, Kol and I all smile while my granddaughter turns several shades of crimson before Kol turns and looks away from her then he tells Lisa, "However, I think for now I'll just take a large, hot, dark roast with no cream or sugar added."

Henri grins and tells me, "See I told you women can't resist the Mikaelson charm."

I chuckle and nod while the girl pouts and nods again, but dutifully writes his order on a paper cup, and tallies up the total before telling him, "That'll be $9.49, _Sir_."

Kol smiles because the barista obviously got the message loud and clear, so taking his wallet out of his back pocket he takes out a ten and hands it to her.  When she hands him back his change, he drops it and two additional dollar bills into the woman's little tip jar, and then Kol and Bonnie move to the side to wait for their drinks.

I miss coffee.  Other than my baby girl, coffee is the one thing I miss the most now that I'm on The Otherside.

While we wait, Bonnie giggles again.  Kol has it bad because he looks at her with a soft, slightly indulgent smile on his face and asks, "What has you giggling this time, Little Witch?"

She smiles brightly and asks him, "Something just occurred to me." 

When he raises his eyebrow silently asking her to elaborate she frowns ever so slightly and cautiously asks, "Uh, can I ask you a personal question about something you said earlier?"

He smiles wider and nods so she grins back and asks, "You think women in this day and age are showing everything they have to offer including things that shouldn't be shown in public, right?”

He nods so she asks, “Then what is your opinion as an older brother of a 17-year-old sister who wears short skirts and tight tops like every other 17-year-old girl in the country?"

He laughs and tells her, "It's honestly taking some getting used to.  Fortunately, 'Bekah obviously has similar tastes to you and your friends, so she doesn't cross that invisible but very real line into trashy.  However, I still want to throw a blanket over her sometimes and tell her to go change into something more respectable.  Of course, the first and only time I actually did that I got slapped for implying she was dressed like a trollop."

Bonnie laughs and asks, "You actually threw a blanket over her?"

He just nods with a toothy smile on his face, so she smiles back and tells him, "I heard Stefan tell Elena about the first time Rebekah went shopping after being woken up.  Your sister apparently asked about women dressing like prostitutes because they wore skirts that barely covered their rear ends and something about her getting dirty looks when she wore pants, and your brother said, um, oh I think it was that 'she wore pants, so women today could wear nothing' or something along those lines.  Other than Cheerleading Practice I haven't really spent much time with your sister.  Unfortunately, I bet she hates me as much as Elena and the others hate her.  Still, I kind of wish I could have been in the dressing room with Rebekah the first time she tried that sort of thing on just to see her honest reaction after having spent 900 or so years in a society where women didn't even show their ankles never mind their knees and thighs."

Kol laughs and tells her, "We're in too public a setting right now for me to play it, but remind me sometime when we're not surrounded by clueless humans who would react badly to a young woman talking about having literally been alive in centuries past.  I'll show you the video of her that day that Nik took on his phone.  I think he caught that little rant or one just like it in the footage, so you'll get the next best thing to having been there.  He still bitches about having had to suffer shopping with her.  Of course, the rest of us impolitely point out that if he hadn't daggered her in the first place, then she would have already had a full modern wardrobe, and a shopping trip with him in attendance would not have been necessary."

Bonnie nods with a small giggle before the girl, Lisa, brings them their drinks.  Kol hands my granddaughter her cup and then takes his before becoming distracted by Bonnie's lips wrapped around that little straw while she happily sucks on her iced mocha.  Her lips wrapped around that little piece of plastic tubing reminds him of his dream this morning and his fantasy in the shower about the things he wishes to do with my grandbaby even though I think she is still far too young to be doing _those_ sorts of things with a man. 

Pulling his thoughts away from _those_ thoughts he holds his hot black coffee in one hand and uses the other to motion her towards a table by the window.  He's still trying to acclimate to telling temperatures because both the Fahrenheit and Celsius scales were invented while he was in his box and not as widely used during the 14 years at the beginning of the 20th Century that he wasn't in his coffin as they are now, but it's early December.  According to his weather app on his phone they're experiencing abnormally high temperatures in the last few weeks, so 68º F is today's expected high temperature.  However, it's only about 9:30 a.m., so it's still early in the day, and he'd be surprised if it's even 50º out yet.  Therefore, it's still a little too cold for them to sit outside comfortably.  The last thing he wants is for her to get sick, so he leads her to a vacant table near one of the large windows.

Kol puts his coffee on the table and holds Bonnie's chair for her helping push it in when she sits, which causes her to look up at him with a beaming smile on her face and tell him, "Thank you, but you should know that your age is showing, Kol.  Boys these days aren't so courteous, or I don't even know the word for it, but I've never had anyone who wasn't my dad, or a waiter help me sit before."

He scoffs at that and tells the witch, "I swear the world has gone to shit in the almost hundred years since I was last out of my coffin.  In fact, I think popular music, technology, and lady's underthings are the only items that have improved with time instead of devolving."

He grins when she giggles, and then she surprises even herself by taking the bait and asking him, "You mentioned thinking that most women show too much of, well, everything in this day and age, but do you have much experience with 'modern lady's underthings', as you put it?"

Freya, Finn, Henri and I laugh at that.  Bonnie is blushing, _hard_ , and thinking, _'Oh my God, where did the courage to ask_ that _come from?'_  

My always curious and inquisitive granddaughter really does want to know though, so she smiles wider when he takes his seat across from her and smiles a soft smile at her before saying, "They really do show far too much to everyone who bothers to look.  However, surprisingly I don't have nearly as much experience with modern lady's underthings as I would like that's for sure."

She giggles at that.  It's such a male thing to say.  He grins and tells her, "Although since I got out of my box, I haven't really tried to get under anyone's clothes.  For one, I converted to Christianity back in 1698, so I believe that sex should only be between a man and his wife.  While I certainly had quite a bit of sex before converting I haven't had much since.  Besides I'm sure it wouldn't be as much fun nowadays given the lack of challenge most women would present, and I find I really do miss the challenge, _and_ if I overlooked my Christian beliefs I'd need that challenge to even bother trying otherwise it would be a colossal waste of my time."

I smile at that.  Bonnie's mouth is forming a little 'o,' though, and she thinks, _'Okay that's definitely not a guy thing to say.  I've never met a guy who would pass up the opportunity to have as much sex as possible, challenge or not.'_  

Kol continues his thought by telling her, "I mean don't get me wrong, I'm sure it would still feel just as good physically as it always has, better actually because after we're undaggered, our skin and senses are extra sensitive for about a year per every decade we were daggered.  The effect also is stronger the longer we were daggered.  However, mentally and emotionally I need a challenge for it to be worth spending my time doing.  Well, I need a challenge or actual feelings for the woman, either would do, or if I'm lucky, both would make it more than worth the effort." 

Finn grins at me and says, "I think your granddaughter will be both without even trying."

I grin back and nod just before Bonnie thinks, _'Okay, maybe it's his age that's making him act differently than guys my age because every other boy I know, Christian or not, would have sex even if it was bad sex, especially if their bodies were hypersensitive.  I suppose needing a challenge or actual feelings for the woman makes sense though if you've been alive for over a thousand years because he's probably been there, done that.'_  

Henri laughs loudly at that thought then says, "Been there, done that, indeed.  My brother has tried just about everything there is to try when it comes to sex, but when it comes down to it, he enjoys sex most when there is an actual relationship between him and the woman.  It doesn't have to be a romantic relationship, but there at least needs to be a friendship in place for him to get any amount of joy out it."

Finn just nods at his youngest brother's words, so I smile back during Kol's pause and then with a mischievous twinkle in his eye Kol asks her, "Why?  Are you offering to model for me?  Because if you are, I think that could prove to be incredibly fun, for _both_ of us."

Bonnie's jaw drops before she licks her suddenly dry lips.  The idea of doing anything of that nature with Kol is tempting to her in a way she thinks it really shouldn't be, but she tells him in her firm voice, "Absolutely not.  I was just curious if you're a man whore.  You kind of have that vibe about you."

He chuckles low in his throat before taking a sip of his drink, and then he asks, "A man whore?  No.  I have gotten around on occasion, though as I said not at all since 1698, but I’m definitely not paid for my services.  I'm so good at it, though, I damn well ought to be paid, and well at that." 

He smiles when she giggles loudly, which just causes his grin to widen.  She lets her laughter trail off.  Then she takes a sip of her ice cold coffee before he tells her, "You'd definitely make me work hard for anything I'd get you to do with me.  Because anything actually worth having takes hard work to get, if you change your mind, you just let me know, and I'll give you a freebie."

He's making that offer because if he has his way they'll be married eventually, and he wants to plant the idea now, so it has time to percolate and mature by the time they're made one.

I laugh, though, when my granddaughter almost chokes on the sip of her drink she just took, and her eyes widen at his words.  After she manages to swallow her sip without choking her mouth forms a little 'o.'  _'Oh my God.  He's dangerous for sure but not in the ways my friends think or at least not_ just _in the ways my friends think he is.'_  

Finn chuckles and tells me, "She truly has no idea, but she has the same effect on him that he has on her."

We nod, and Kol thinks, _'God, look at that blush.  Could she possibly be any cuter?'_

Bonnie snaps out of her daze and crumples up a napkin and throws it at him smacking him in the face with it, which causes him to laugh before she tells him, "Stop, I'm not sleeping with you no matter how much fun you say it would be." 

He chuckles again, and after taking another sip of his piping hot coffee, he says, "We could have some definite fun, you and I."  He leans in, and as though he's asking for a secret he softly asks, "Or am I not as cute as young Jeremy?"

I laugh again and tell my companions, "Oh he's good, I'll give him that."

His brothers and sister just smile and nod before Bonnie tells the appropriately confident Kol, "You're cuter."  Her eyes open wide when she realizes what she just said and to whom.  While Kol and Bonnie both think it's certainly very true, my grandbaby wouldn't have willingly said it out loud to, well, anyone really, but the words just popped out of her mouth before she could stop them.  She blushes ten shades of crimson and then tries unsuccessfully to cover up her embarrassment by telling him, "But I didn't sleep with Jer, I haven't… well… um… I…" 

Kol thinks, _‘I can’t smell any semen mixed in with her delicious scent.  It can linger for years, even over a decade if two women I met centuries ago who each had sex once, more than a decade before I met them are any indication.  Even over ten years later, I could still smell the faintest whiff of their partner's semen mixed in with their own unique scent.  But Bonnie, her distinctly pure and incredibly untainted scent tells me that she hasn't had intercourse with anyone.  God, she’s completely untouched and if I get my way I’ll be the only man to ever touch her that way.  I’ll be her first, and we’ll be each other's last.’_

I still think she's too young to be doing _those_ sorts of things, but I know that Kol isn't just going to sleep with her and then drop her like a hot potato.  So, I'm a little more comfortable with the idea than I would be if he weren't thinking in terms of forever and not just right now.

As fun as it is making her blush for him, he doesn't want to increase her embarrassment though, or, at least, not about her lack of experience because that would hurt her self-esteem and self-confidence and that's the absolute last thing he wants to accomplish today or any day for that matter.  Therefore, he doesn't tell her that he can smell her virginity.  Instead, he smiles gently, takes another sip, and then says, "Ah, I see, you're pure, well since you think I'm cuter, if you decide to change your status, you just let me know.  I'll be happy to help defile you in the most debauched ways possible."  Of course, he plans to marry her first, maybe not a public wedding at first but a sharing of vows before God none-the-less.

He pauses and smirks at her before leaning in, and in a hushed voice, he tells her, "I bedded my first maiden the spring before I turned 14-years-old, and I've been undaggered for about 608 of my 1,009 years as a vampire.  I was sexually active for all but 18 of those undaggered years, so you really couldn't ask for a better teacher than a man who's been bedding women for just under 600 years." 

I laugh because my granddaughter shivers at the mental image of him having his way with women for six centuries despite her best efforts.  She covers the shiver by giggling and taking a long sip of her drink before she decides to tease him back just a little.  She gets a twinkle of her own in her eye and asks him, "Hmm, Klaus and Elijah are both older than you, and they presumably did the daggering, so they haven't been daggered as much, if at all, so does that mean they're better than you in that department?" 

Kol chuckles while I marvel at the fact that she feels comfortable enough with him to tease him about sex.  Still smiling, he leans in closer to her and says, "Hardly, I wouldn't be surprised if Elijah is as pure as _you_ are, _despite_ his advanced years, and Nik, well his bed mates are, well, honestly he has low standards.  If he weren't part vampire, I'd be afraid he might catch something."

He smiles at her resulting giggle and tells her, "Seriously, his standards are incredibly lacking, and I've often wondered if he sleeps with such low-quality women in an attempt at hiding the fact that he lacks the skills necessary to please a real woman of the highest quality."

Laughing again she smiles before she tells him, "He has the man whore vibe too, so what you're telling me is he definitely is one?"

Kol finishes swallowing the sip he just took and chuckles that low deep chuckle of his that gives her that shiver Kol thinks is delicious before he says, "He's been getting into women's skirts far more than I have this time around that's for certain.  He doesn't get paid either that I know of, though, and I doubt he ought to be paid for that matter."

My usually sexually shy granddaughter giggles at that, but then she takes him off guard when she asks, "You know that premonition I had?"  He's obviously clueless about how the new subject relates to what they were just talking about, but he nods. 

After taking a sip of her drink, she continues, "Well I got to see both of your brothers and both of the Salvatore's in the buff, and I saw you and Damon in action, so to speak, although you were in Stefan and Damon's bodies at the time and Elena's at one point."

I'm amazed that she feels comfortable enough with Kol to admit that she's seen both of his surviving brothers naked, but the fact of the matter is she feels exceptionally relaxed with Kol.  She thinks it's almost like he's a kindred spirit.  Maybe it's the fact that she knows he absolutely understands how she feels not having her magick right now.  Whatever it is he's smiling widely at the fact that she's bantering with him.  

Shaking his head ever so slightly Kol, who is potentially oversexed, laughs and sits up straight before asking with wide eyes, "I had sex while in Ms. Gilbert's body?  Exactly how much sex did I have in this premonition?" 

Oh yeah, he's definitely oversexed even if he hasn't had any in centuries.  Bonnie laughs like the teenage girl she truly is and ignoring her furious blush she tells him, "A whole lot," and then she ticks the instances off on her fingers, "Let's see if I can remember them all.  There was the threesome with the two co-eds in Stefan's body, which you thought was a disgrace to all men everywhere."

He puffs up his chest a bit at that while he smiles.  He's pleased that she got to see him in 'top form.'  He's very obviously fighting the urge to cackle, though, at the news that he thought Stefan is a disgrace to all men everywhere.  She continues answering his question by telling him, "Then there was you in Damon's body, which you thought _wasn't_ a disgrace to all men everywhere, and you switched into Elena's body just as you and she—um, well when you, um, you get the idea, anyway she figured out who you were, and you switched.  Then Damon continued through your, uh, aftershocks and you thought he was very good at it."

She turns even redder while he chuckles again, this time at her, adorable to him, inability to say 'cum,' 'climax,' or 'orgasm.'  Those just aren't words a girl like her is in the habit of using in public and especially not in the presence of a guy.  Kol thinks it's incredibly cute, her inability to say the words, so he just smiles gently, so she knows he's not laughing in a mean way.

My granddaughter knows the vampire's laughter is in good fun, so she doesn't object to his chuckles and takes another long sip then she giggles and tells him, "While you were in Elena's body you thought 'So this is what the women I've slept with felt.  No wonder they like sex so much…'"

Kol joins her laughter, but then she sobers up and frowns slightly before she tells him, "Then I watched twice as Damon and Elena did it without you, once after The Hunter's Curse was broken and then on their last night alive a couple of weeks later." 

He got enough of the gist last night of what all happened in her premonition to know that he was the reason her friends had a final night.  In an effort not to bring down the mood, he smiles boyishly and ignores the sad tone at the end of her story and asks her, "Stefan's a disgrace to all men everywhere?  That's good to know.  So, you failed to mention my brothers.  When did you see them 'in the buff,' as you put it?" 

Bonnie swallows her previous sip of ice coffee and grins before telling him, "Elijah went digging in a landfill when he was searching for you, so I watched when you showered the garbage stench off while in his body.  Then later that day I saw you change out of what Klaus was wearing and into new clothes, so I know that neither of them wears any underwear."

She pauses then softly, but needlessly adds, "Because they were each in front of mirrors at the time I got an eyeful both times." 

Kol laughs when her already deep blush manages to deepen even more before he pauses to sip his own coffee while it's still hot.  Then after swallowing, he tells Bonnie, whom he hopes to soon make his permanently, "Most older vampires, well the men I've known that is, don't wear underwear.  The braies we wore when I was human, which were really just linen shorts, always bunched and chaffed.  They weren't particularly comfortable for the longest time, so we have yet to jump on board that trend.  Personally, I don't see the point in wearing them.  I mean it makes sense for women to give support and such, but for men, they're utterly and completely pointless."

I chuckle, and so do my three companions.  Bonnie's eyes are wide, and her jaw is hanging open while her eyes lose focus, and she imagines cheeky Kol naked.  She snaps out of her mental vision a minute or so later and says slightly out of breath, "Uh, that's a little more information than I needed." 

He swallows before he laughs again, "You're the one who brought up what my brothers look like naked _and_ the fact that they don't wear underwear.  I just followed _your_ conversational lead." 

My still furiously blushing grandbaby rolls up another napkin and tosses it at him.  He catches it this time before it can hit him in the face while she says, "You're the one who brought up your preference for modern lady's underthings _and_ the fact that you're so good at sex that you ought to be paid to do it."

Kol, who was already grinning smirks with smoldering eyes and tells her, "I really should be."

She laughs for a minute then nods and smiles before she takes a long pull from her straw with her eyes closed.

When Bonnie's eyes open, she releases the straw and swallows before asking her companion, "Um, I have another personal question, which feel free to refuse to answer because I totally realize that until yesterday we were enemies so you might not want me to know such personal details about your family."

My granddaughter means that too.  She's undoubtedly curious about him and his family.  She understands, though, that she might be asking this question a little too soon in their budding friendship.  So, after he nods to show her he'll at least listen to her question, she smiles slightly and asks, "So anyway, uh, you mentioned, I think you said his name was Henrik, was he the only other sibling you had that we haven't met?"

He shakes his head and tells her, "No we all have an older sister Freya who was born in Norway before our family sailed here.  Esther bartered her before she was even conceived.  Our mother got children and her younger sister, Dahlia, who did the magick that allowed the otherwise barren bitch to procreate got Esther's first born in return.  None of us knew any of that though until we found ourselves on The Otherside after we were daggered.  Esther told us while we grew up that she died of the plague as an infant, which Mikael blamed on the too cold winters in Oslo, so he decided to sail here with Esther and a few others who wished to flee the harsh winters.  They left in what Elijah believes was mid-March of 975 and they arrived off the coast of what is now Virginia in the extremely late summer/early autumn of the same year.   Finn was born almost exactly a year after Freya was and was the only one alive when Esther gave our sister to our aunt.  He was only about a year or so old and therefore too little to remember much more than Freya's face and blonde curls.  He always believed our sister died just the same as everyone else did, but Esther compelled him to keep his mouth shut because a child that young might have said something incriminating without realizing it, so she took preventative measures and essentially turned our brother against us even before we were born." 

He pauses and takes another sip then tells Bonnie, who is incredibly attentive, "A little over a year after they arrived in Virginia, Elijah was born."

My granddaughter has always been interested in history and especially people's personal histories, so I'm not surprised that she's smiling widely and asks, "Um, so you guys have to guess at what the dates were back then, huh?  I mean calendars probably weren't widely used at the time?"

Kol smiles back, and after taking another sip, he tells Bonnie who is still giving him a broad grin, "As I told you earlier, our condition gives us Eidetic memory, so Elijah remembers not only everything he witnessed but also everything our parents told him growing up.  We know we were turned on October's full moon in the year 1001, which Elijah has since figured out was on October 03, so we finished the transition on the morning of October 04 which was just over three weeks shy of my twentieth birthday."

Bonnie smiles even broader and thinks, _'So cool.'_  She nods so he continues, "My birthday fell on the witches' New Year, which was called Samhain back then but now the humans call it Halloween."

She was about to take a sip when he said that, so she stops a few inches from her straw and raises her eyes to meet his before she asks, "You were born on Halloween?"

He nods, so she nods back then asks, "Wow, that's so cool.  So, do any of the others know what day they were born on?"

Smiling still he nods again and tells her, "Elijah loves a good mystery, so I forget when he began his investigation, but a few centuries ago he sat down and wrote down everything he knew about the days we were each born.  Then he went about figuring out what day and year each birth was on.  It was slightly easier because we were witches, and so was Esther, so she kept track of the moon's cycle and recorded when we were born in her grimoire based on the season and how close it was to each phase of the moon's cycle.  So, for instance, she listed me as being born on Samhain, but Esther also wrote that it was the day after The New Moon that followed The Hunter's Moon, which is typically in October.  He knew how many seasons we'd each survived when we turned and the year of our turning so he counted backward and figured out the dates of the moon's cycle for October that year, 981 if you're curious, and so he came up with the 31st because The New Moon was on the 30th.  Of course, in my case figuring out the date was even easier than that simply because Samhain falls on the same day every year and always has."

Bonnie swallows the sip in her mouth then smiles and says, "That is so cool.  So, if you don't think they'd mind can you tell me when Elijah thinks the others were born?"

Honestly, she thinks they'd mind, but she figures it can't hurt to ask. 

Finn smiles and tells me, "If it were anyone else, but especially one of her friends then our siblings would most definitely mind him answering that question.  However, they know enough about her _and_ Kol's plans that they shouldn't mind too much if he tells her."

I nod before Kol surprises my baby girl with a smile and tells her, "If you were Ms. Gilbert they'd probably try to beat me to a pulp if I even thought to answer that question.  However, I sincerely doubt they'd mind me telling _you_."

She nods but tells him, "Okay, but only tell me if you're sure because I don't want your siblings to get mad at you over something I asked for."

His smile widens at that.  He's only slightly surprised that she cares whether his siblings get mad at him, but she really doesn't want to get him into trouble even if he was and maybe still should be her enemy.  She's thinking he's sliding closer and closer to friend and farther and farther away from the enemy side of the scale, so she really does care how they'd feel if he told her that sort of thing about his family members.

Still giving her a big smile Kol says, "I'm certain they won't mind, so let's see, Freya, who still exists but goes into a magickally induced sleep every 99 years, was born in November of 972 and we know that it was two days after The Beaver Moon, so Elijah thinks she was born on the 25th.  Finn was also born in November but in 973.  He was born on The New Moon which was on the 16th that year."

While he talks Bonnie's smile keeps getting wider and wider, so he stops and tells her, "If your smile gets any wider your face is going to break in half."

My grandbaby laughs and tells her companion honestly, "Sorry, I'm kind of a closet history lover, so this is just fascinating.  Keep going," she pauses then adds, "Please."

He laughs at her eagerness then tells her, "Very well, Elijah was a late summer baby.  He came ten sunrises after The Fire Festival of Lughnasadh, which was two days shy of The Sturgeon Moon, so he figured out that his birthday is August 10th, and based on how many summers he had survived before we were turned he thinks the year was 976."

He pauses to take a sip of his coffee then he asks her, "Did your grandmother get a chance to teach you about witch festivals?"

I frown.  I only got to teach her the bare basics.  She frowns too but tells him, "Yes and no.  I know when they are for the most part because she'd always say something like Happy Samhain to me on Halloween and she did that with all of The Fire Festivals and The Quarter Days too.  My dad didn't want her filling my head with that 'witchy crap' as he frequently called it, though, so I don't know much about the actual festivals other than what she could sneak into our conversations without pissing him off.  I think he mostly blamed ' _that_ witchy crap' for Abby leaving us, which is pretty accurate because she left to desiccate Mikael and trap and hide him.  Anyway, she stayed gone after she finished, for reasons I'm not particularly clear on, so he's probably half right." 

She pauses then frowns deeper and says, "Anyway, I guess he was afraid the 'witchy crap' would cause me to leave too.  It's a pretty irrational fear, but he wouldn't listen when Grams or I tried to explain that just because I knew that stuff didn't mean I was going to abandon him."

Kol frowns but nods and asks, "How's your father dealing with both your involvement in witchcraft as well as your mother's return?"

My baby girl frowns back and tells him in a quiet voice, "He's not particularly happy about me doing the witch thing, especially after the whole Expression mess, but now that Abby is back, well, last night he asked her to teach me how to do it properly.  She didn't seem too enthused about the idea, though.  I think he doesn't realize that because she's a vampire, she no longer has access to her magick.  So, as I'm sure you realize it's a sore subject with her.  It's why I'm giving serious consideration to your offer because you seem to have accepted the fact that you don't have your magick anymore, so helping me might hurt _you_ less than it would hurt _her_."

He nods and tells her, "I _have_ had longer to come to grips with the loss.  Regardless, whichever of us teaches you, we need to make sure you know all about the festivals, so I'll keep that in mind going forward, and I'll be sure to mention them as they occur this year.  In fact, just over two weeks from now, on the 21st, is the Winter Solstice, so when it draws nearer, I'll begin telling you more about it, especially about what it will mean for your power."

She smiles and nods before saying, "Thank you, now what about Klaus and Rebekah.  When were they born?"

He laughs and tells her, "So nosy."

I laugh when she nods but waves her hand in a hurry-up motion, so he chuckles and tells her, "Okay, so Nik was born the July after Elijah was born on The Buck Moon which also happened to be the afternoon of a total lunar eclipse.  According to Ayana and Esther he was born about the same time the moon was completely within The Earth's shadow so about 3:36 p.m.  They both knew about Ansel and in at least Esther's book they speculated that it might be a sign because Ansel was a wolf and they're ruled by the phases of the moon.  Elijah and I also think it's why Mikael hated our brother even before discovering Esther's infidelity.  Mikael despised the wolves from the moment he met them, and we think Mikael was aware enough to realize Nik's birth time was significant in some way.  Regardless, Elijah looked it up many centuries later, so he believes that Nik was born on July 03, 977."

Finn nods slightly and says, "I agree with my brothers.  Mikael at least had to have a suspicion or why else would he have treated Niklaus so poorly."

I nod while Bonnie frowns and a moment later she tells Kol why when she says, "See I don't get that.  I mean _after_ he discovered Esther cheated on him I can see him resenting the child that was a result of that infidelity, but I could never hate a child simply because he was born at the exact time the moon was fully into The Earth's shadow.  Who does that?  For all he knew, Klaus was his son, and he treated him like crap for no reason.  I mean don't get me wrong I'm not a big fan of Klaus', but I can admit that his behavior that I hate is probably a direct result of his relationship with the man he originally thought was his father.  That crap would mess up even the most stable person, and I think Esther's curse she placed on Klaus after you all turned made him even more unstable than Mikael's treatment of him did."

She pauses then gently tells Kol, "I know he's your brother, but he's exceptionally good at being a monster, and I credit both of your parents for his monstrous proficiency, for lack of a better way to put it.  They made him the monster he is today, and that's not even taking The Immortality Spell into account, just the curse and their overall treatment of him."

He nods with wide eyes.  He hadn't realized that she'd given much thought to all of this, but she's not done, so she tells him, "I also find myself blaming Esther for Elena's Aunt and Biological Father dying more than I want to blame Klaus.  If your mother hadn't messed with Klaus and taken away a part of himself, then he never would have needed to make those sacrifices that night and Jenna and the werewolf, Jules, would both still be alive.  Elena wouldn't have had to die either, so John wouldn't have needed me to cast a spell to revive her using his life force essentially killing him in the process.  Incidentally, Caroline would still be human too because Katherine forced her to begin the transition to meet the requirements of The Reversal Spell.  Plus, if there were no curse, Klaus wouldn't have been looking for the doppelgänger in the first place so Katherine would have never turned, and Damon and Stefan would have never met her and would have died human, preferably after having lived long, happy, fulfilling lives.  When you think about it every supernatural issue my friends and I have had can be traced directly back to Esther and her epic stupidity and unparalleled cruelty."

Kol laughs while he nods and tells her, "You're not wrong about a single thing you just mentioned.  It's why I believe she got off incredibly easy, all things considered.  The fact is every vampire exists because of her actions.  Therefore, every atrocity they've ever committed falls on her.  I would, however, like to point out, though, that Mikael was evil long before The Immortality Spell came into play.  The word abusive doesn't properly convey just how violent he was towards all of us on a daily basis."

He smiles gently and tells her, "You, on the other hand, are pretty much the epitome of everything good in the world, so I'm not surprised that his behavior is foreign and unthinkable to you."

She opens her mouth, to point out that she's not a saint either, but he holds up his hand and tells her, "Everything you just said shows me that you are a good and decent person who would never mistreat anyone the way our parents did and especially not your own child, or _any_ child for that matter.  You find Mikael's actions abhorrent and rightly so.  You can't understand why he would behave so terribly because you just don't have the capacity to behave that way inside of you."

My grandbaby really doesn't have the capacity for that sort of evil inside her.  Her eyes are wide, but she's nodding, so he nods back and then tells her, "Now where was I, oh yes, so Nik was born on July 03, 977.  Two babies died before their first birthdays between Nik and me and then there were two more between me and 'Bekah.  The infant mortality rate was remarkably high back then, hence why everyone believed Esther when she said Freya died.  Anyway, Rebekah was born two days after Beltane which was the night of The New Moon after The Pink Moon so May 03, 984.  Now there were several more babies between 'Bekah and Henri who didn't last more than a few months each, so it was just over six years before Henri was born in July on another full moon.  Elijah figured out that our baby brother's birthday was July 05, 990."

Bonnie grins and leaning in closer to Kol she asks, "So Klaus and Henrik were born two days apart 13 years apart?"

He nods and tells her, "Yes, though we celebrated them on the same day because they were both born on The Full Moon.  We didn't know the exact dates until Henri had been dead for several centuries so when we celebrated our birthdays was based on the moon's location the day we were born.  For instance, as I said, Beks was born two days after The New Moon following The Pink Moon, so that is when we celebrated her birthday.  Because the New Moon is on different dates from year to year, the day we celebrated changed every year.  Therefore, because Nik and Henri were both born on July's Full Moon, we celebrated their births on the same day."

She nods, and then my ever-compassionate baby girl clearly surprises the ancient man by saying, "It's too bad Jer isn't still a ghost whisperer, or we could try to see if your baby brother is still around and maybe give Klaus, or all of you really, the closure you deserve."

Kol's eyes widen at that.  She means it too.  If Jeremy could still see ghosts, she'd ask him to try to find the youngest Mikaelson and give them all the closure they deserve.  Unfortunately, Jeremy isn't a ghost whisperer anymore, so it's impossible to make happen at this point.  The mere fact that she thought of it touches Kol, though, and his chestnut eyes soften while they look at her.

He smiles gently and tells her, "Thank you for the thought, but alas, as you said, Jeremy is no longer capable of communicating with ghosts, so it's probably best not to dwell on it."

Bonnie nods, and they lapse into silence while she stares at her Mocha for a second before asking, "Uh, you know how you said you'd be willing to help me get my powers back?"

Kol is impressed that she managed to wait so long to bring it up.  If their roles were reversed, he wouldn't have been able to wait anywhere near as long as she did.  Then again, he's not particularly well known for his patience.  In fact, I'd go so far as to say he's widely well known the world over for the exact opposite. 

His siblings are continually picking fun at his inability to wait for anything or his urge to jump to the best parts in a story, and they laugh even harder when they let him know they've bought him something, but that it's meant to be a surprise, and he must wait a specified time before opening it.  He thinks, _'It's like a demented game to them.'_  

I can see in his memories that they've even hidden the gifts before and then watched amused as he tore wherever they were to shreds in his haste to find his new present. 

Bringing his thoughts back to the here and now Kol smiles at Bonnie and nods before bringing his cup up to his lips and taking a sip prompting her to continue, "What exactly would it entail because I think I learned my lesson about just blindly trusting in that department after Shane and the whole Expression debacle.  It freakin' hurt when Abby's friends cleansed me of that stuff.  In fact, I still have a slight full body ache, and my head is still pounding from it." 

Her eyes have been slightly narrowed at various points throughout the morning making him believe she's in pain.  So, Kol imagines she's never felt anything as painful as what they did to her last night.  If the experiences of other witches he's known are any indication, her bones will likely ache deeply until she gets her natural magick back.

He's pleased she's not just accepting his words at face value, though, and is really stopping and considering whether he's on the up and up.  I'm pleased to find that he really is being straight with her, though.  He doesn't want her to drown in the darkness.  In fact, so far as he's concerned if she never does another dark spell, it'll still be too soon. 

Still, he finishes swallowing before he frowns and tells her honestly, "The first thing you should know if I'm going to be your teacher is that caution is always wise when magick is involved.  It's too powerful and dangerous not to take caution when it's used.  Internalize that fact, and you'll have half the battle won."

Her eyes are wide, but she slowly nods, so he continues telling her, "That said, there are only two ways to get rid of that dark shit, the first is dying, which is most disagreeable under any circumstance."

Freya, Finn, Henri, and I all laugh loudly at that before Finn says, "And he's back to the gross understatements."

I smile and nod but say nothing, instead watching my granddaughter and the man who wants her forever.  Kol tells her, "The second way is a handful of variations of the same spell, all of which are incredibly painful, or so I've been told.  I witnessed the casting of the spell several handfuls of times and the screams haunted me for years, which given who and what I am and the things I've borne witness to through the years says something.  The witches performing the spells put up silencing charms to prevent the neighbors from investigating the screams."

If he focuses, some of the screams still echo in his ears even all these centuries later.  He never felt so helpless as he did when he was standing there watching his friends suffer while his other witch friends tried to save them.

My grandbaby nods while she swallows her most recent sip of her drink before she says, "They did that last night too, and I'm glad because I don't think I've ever screamed so loud or so hard.  How I missed what I was doing to myself is beyond me."  Her face flushes and her back tenses at the thought of how she allowed Atticus to trick her into going head first into dark magick. 

Kol is sure she just wanted her powers back so badly that she didn't stop and think about the consequences of her actions.  That's 100% true but like he also said earlier, witches talk about keeping the balance within nature all the time, but they very rarely talk about what that looks like, so my untimely death made it so that Bonnie didn't even know that she was doing something that went against nature, not at first at least.

When Kol finishes teaching her the basics of witchcraft, she'll be more cautious, more knowledgeable, and she'll have no need to touch the darkness ever again.  Plus, he'll be by her side, Always and Forever, so he'll be able to guide her away from any dark magick people might try to convince her to perform. 

The good news is that if the end result is within The Laws of Nature, and even a few things that stretch but don't entirely break The Laws of Nature, then there is a non-dark counterpart to whichever dark spell someone might suggest she use, so following The Laws of Nature isn't really a disadvantage in most cases. 

I mean sure, resurrections and immortality spells, or at least the type that changes the person's fundamental species, and even the spell to turn vampires back into humans, which is technically a resurrection spell, are out because if done by a witch they're dark anyway you look at them and definitely go against The Laws of Nature.  Most other needs anyone might have for magick, however, should be doable with a non-dark spell.  It might take longer or be more involved because The Dark Ways are usually far easier and have a quicker turnaround, but she’ll have options available to her in most cases. 

Kol thinks, _'I will definitely be making sure Ms. Gilbert doesn't get it into her head for Bonnie to try to create a cure from scratch, though, because I definitely wouldn't put that past the bitch, and a spell of that nature would be The Blackest of the Black.'_   I smile at his thoughts because I don't doubt that Elena will try at some point to find a spell for my granddaughter to do to create the cure. 

The scary part is that I know who made the cure in the first place and she is mine and Bonnie's ancestor, which means the spell to cure vampirism is probably in one of my many family books.  It's technically a type of resurrection spell and pretty much right up there with the spell to make vampires in the first place in terms of darkness level. 

I whisper a little prayer, "Please, Jesus, let Kol have enough influence over my granddaughter that she'll listen to him when the time comes and not try to help her selfish friend become human again." 

Finn and Freya place a hand on each of my shoulders while Henri takes my hand and squeezes.  Henri smiles gently and tells me, "Don't worry, Sheila, if anyone can keep your girl from going down the wrong path it will be our brother."

I nod, especially because Kol's thoughts are echoing my own, _'I will do everything in my power to keep her on the correct path and not touching the darkness ever again.'_  

Still, he frowns and leans closer before he says, "Don't beat yourself up about it, Darling, it's the nature of that type of magick.  It intentionally keeps you blind to what it's doing to you until it's too late for you to do anything about it, and then you're just a hand grenade waiting to go off." 

Her eyebrow shoots up, and she's frowning more deeply, so he tells her, "I've known at least eight witches that were far more experienced when they got involved with dark magick than you are, and they didn't realize what was happening to them until it was too late.  If _they_ didn't know what was happening, how could you expect _you_ who had, according to my sources, only been practicing magick for a little over a year to know what was happening?  I mean even Esther is a clear example of a very experienced witch not realizing the danger she was in until it was far too late."

Bonnie nods slightly, but her lip is caught between her teeth and her eyes are full of tears just waiting for an opportunity to fall.  Kol places his hand gently over her pleasantly soft hand where it's laying on the table, and tells her, "In fact, you're actually quite lucky to have survived practicing Expression because that spell they did on you last night works best if the witch being cleansed is willing.  Including you, I've been friends with 14 witches that spell has been tried on through the years, and besides you, only two were willing and survived in the long run.  If you don't go back to it, you'll be the third ever that I've personally known to survive that shit."

He pauses then adds in a somber tone, "Fact of the matter is, most who try Expression or the other forms of dark magick get hooked, and they not only refuse to give it up, but they fight to keep it until it gets them killed."

Bonnie nods and tells him, "The witches were clear that I was lucky, but they didn't explain that it would be more likely to work if I was willing.  Um, if you don't want to answer this you don't have to, but, um, were you close to the ones who didn't make it?"

Kol nods slowly, and his lips turn down into a frown when faces flash before his eyes and the old wounds caused by his friends' deaths send a painful pulse through his heart even after all these years.  My grandbaby obviously senses his pain and flips her hand under his so that they're holding hands before she gives his hand a gentle squeeze.  He squeezes back just as gently and tells her, "I was particularly close to seven of them, but, as I said, I considered all of them to be my friends."

The heartache of watching someone you love basically kill themselves with that stuff never leaves you.  If they don't want help nothing will help them, though, so Kol was stuck without being able to do anything to save them.  It was even worse for him because in other circumstances he's so powerful, and nothing but a White Oak Ash Dagger or a White Oak Stake can stop him, yet in those instances, he was so utterly powerless to stop his friends' descents into the darkness.  Plus, by the time the last of his friends was having the spell done on her he had seen it done often enough to know that her unwillingness to cooperate meant she wasn't likely to survive more than another week even with the spell they did trying to take away her addiction.

Kol is offering to help Bonnie get her natural powers back because he's fairly sure she hasn't gotten to the point in her addiction where she's using more and more dark magick simply for the power rush it gives her.  She's not that far gone quite yet and still merely wants to fill the void her spirit magick left behind when it was taken from her.  Therefore, he figures if he can give her back her natural magick then she'll have absolutely no reason whatsoever to go back to the dark magick and will, therefore, be far less likely to kill herself with it. 

Kol wants my granddaughter for all time, but even if he didn't want her to be his, he would still be trying to help her because despite not currently knowing her that well, saving her is sort of his way of paying tribute to the ones he _couldn't_ save in the past.

Bonnie is already frowning when Kol's frown deepens before he asks, "Do you mind if I ask what led to you losing your natural powers in the first place?  It will help me figure out if my plan to return them to you will work.  It should work but knowing how you lost them will definitively tell me if I need to come up with a new plan."

Bonnie nods but pulls her hand from his before she wraps her arms around herself and sort of hunches over making herself as small as she can.  She takes a deep breath and then tells him, "It all started when Sheriff Forbes, Caroline's mom, shot and killed Jeremy.  I, well, I was in love with him at the time, so I tried to bring him back, but The Spirits didn't like it.  I did it anyway, and they took away the power of The Hundred Dead Witches."

Kol frowns and thinks, _'Well, there you have it.  A resurrection spell started all her troubles.  I'll definitely be keeping an eye on Ms. Gilbert from now on because Bonnie's heart is obviously soft enough that she'd be inclined to help those she cares about any way she can, even to her own detriment.'_  

He's slowly beginning to understand exactly what it took for Bonnie to deny her best friend the opportunity to be human again.  It took the very real possibility that allowing Elena to find the cure would cause everyone else Bonnie loves to die, and the deaths were not quick in most cases. 

Kol continues his thought, _'She's too giving and selfless for her own good, so I will happily take up the role as her voice of reason if she allows me to.  Hell, even if she doesn't consent to me taking on that role, I'll still be there urging her not to do whatever stupid and dangerous thing Ms. Gilbert might try to talk her into, and despite how impatient I am, in most cases, I'm also not known for giving up easily.'_  

He told Bonnie earlier that the things worth having or doing in this life are usually the ones that take the most work or effort to get and very little in this world is worth more to Kol than keeping my granddaughter on the living side of The Veil for as long as he can.

Bonnie frowns and shrugs slightly before she tells him, "Then people and circumstances kept demanding I do different spells, which at first I didn't realize were mostly dark magick."

It's just like he suspected, her soft heart and desire to help those she cares about teamed up with her inexperience and lack of knowledge to trap her into doing dark magick. 

Then that asshole, Atticus, preyed on my grandbaby's vulnerabilities to turn her into a hand grenade.  From what I gathered out of his own mind he did it on purpose so that she would be less likely to harm him because he set himself up to be the only one that could keep her from losing control.  Thank God her mother knew enough live witches to do the spell last night after Bonnie killed that predator, or she would have down spiraled fast, and nothing Kol or anyone else would have been able to do would have prevented her from getting herself killed. 

Kol offers up a small prayer of thanks, _'Thank You, Jesus, for looking out for Your daughter and keeping her safe until I could step in at your urging and help her get control of her life back.'_  

A tear slips out of Bonnie's eye and down her cheek before she tells him in a quiet yet trembling voice, "Grams eventually tried to warn me, but I didn't listen, and… soon after… The Spirits… punished my grams… for _my_ using… dark magick."

She's practically gasping for air between every couple of words, and she begins hyperventilating, so Kol reaches out and takes her hand from where she's holding herself and tells her, "Slow breaths in and out through your nose, Bonnie."

I sigh and say, "Oh Baby Girl, I wish there was a way to tell you that I'm okay."

She has trouble not gasping the breaths in and out for a minute, but eventually, she manages to calm her breathing, so he smiles and tells her what I can't, "There you go, Darling.  Now, the good news is The Spirits likely aren't punishing her anymore because you have discontinued using dark magick at this point.  Everything I know about magick and The Spirits tells me that she's safe again, okay?"

She nods while she focuses on slowly breathing.  After a minute she squeezes his hand tightly and says, "Thank you, Kol.  I… I hadn't said the words out loud yet, and it hurt more than I thought it would to admit… that I caused the woman I love more than anyone else… to be hurt simply because I was too stubborn to listen to her… even though she had never led me astray before."

He nods and tells her honestly, "You're welcome, Bonnie.  It's important to realize our mistakes, but it's also important to acknowledge that no one is perfect, and we all make mistakes, and we even all hurt people we care about at some point." 

He holds up his hand when her mouth opens to argue and then he tells her, "I'll admit most people don't cause their loved one to be attacked by The Spirits, but the statement is still true.  Use the experience as a lesson and as a scale with which to judge the intelligence of doing things in the future." 

Kol smiles and tells her, "I knew your grandmother on The Otherside briefly, for a little less than a year, shortly after she died and just before I was undaggered.  She's a lovely woman.  I was serious when I said I haven't heard a single bad thing about your grandmother, and I made sure I got every piece of information I could on your whole family after Esther tried to manipulate you and your mother into helping kill us." 

Bonnie's eyes are the size of saucers, and her mouth is forming a little 'o' at the news that Kol and I know each other.  I think part of her shock is that he, whom her friends have all labeled evil, thinks favorably of _me_ , whom she feels is the furthest a person can get from evil.  She is slowly coming to realize however that black and white labels will never fit Kol Mikaelson.  I'd take it one step further and say that those sorts of labels don't fit any member of his family despite the otherwise popular opinions of most of her friends.

Kol, whom I still consider my friend, smiles and gives my shocked grandbaby some excellent advice, "The next time someone asks you to do a spell I want you to consider this:  _'What would your grams say about you doing the proposed spell?'_   It'll get easier to answer that question the more you learn, but it'll be helpful to get in the habit of asking yourself that question before you do any spell work ever again, okay?  And if you find yourself tempted to do a dark spell, I want you to remember how hard it was to breathe a minute ago when you recalled the pain your grandmother suffered.  Nothing is worth causing her pain, correct?"

He's very good, and I'm incredibly grateful that my granddaughter has him on her side now.

She nods, so he smiles and tells her, "Okay, good, now tell me the end of the story, and then I'll tell you how I think we can fix the issue of your missing magick."

Bonnie nods and tells him, "That's the end other than that Shane taught me Expression because I had lost all of my magick after Grams was punished.  After that, the only power I could access was dark magick and Expression.  Though, admittedly I didn't realize that what Shane was teaching me was more dark magick just with a fancy name."

Kol frowns and tells her, "The arse was clever I'll give him that.  He made sure he knew enough about you so that he could attack all your weaknesses and mold you to suit his own purposes.  As for you losing your access to your spirit magick, there's the rub, The Spirits wanted to punish you, but they set it up so that you thought that going against The Laws of Nature was the only way you could feel whole again and continue doing magick.  Honestly, The Spirits aren't as bright as they think they are."

Freya, Finn, Henri and I all nod at Kol's statement, because really, they just make matters worse with their punishments.  Kol pauses and takes another sip of his quickly cooling coffee then smiles slightly and says, "There is more good news because The Spirits wouldn't take your powers permanently unless you repeatedly did some major damage that caused major imbalance.  I'm talking the kind that would take centuries to correct, think Esther, which is why she needed first Ayana's and then yours and the rest of your line's magick.  Even before she did The Immortality Spell, she didn't have any of her own spirit magick anymore.  However, if she hadn't then done The Immortality Spell _and_ the curse she placed on Nik and she had stopped using dark magick entirely, they would have given her back her powers.  They ultimately don't want the individual imbalanced any more than they want the rest of the world to be out of balance, and keeping your magick from you for all time would upset your internal balance.  Therefore, provided you give up the dark magick and stop creating imbalance in the world they will likely give it back after a time." 

He pauses then asks, "Sheila is a Christian.  I assume you were raised the same?"

She nods so he smiles gently and continues his thought, "God's going to forgive you for any sins you commit.  The key is to genuinely repent and then give an honest attempt at not repeating the sin.  Therefore, The Spirits, which are a type of Angel, do God's work just the same as we're supposed to.  Just as we're supposed to forgive those who wrong us, God and his agents will forgive us our wrongful actions.  That's not to say there aren't consequences to our actions, but condemnation is Satan's way, not God's way.  God corrects our behavior and then helps us move on."

Bonnie's holding her breath and biting her lip while she leans in closer to him.  He continues feeding her obvious hope by telling her, "Of course most witches, including Esther, get further drawn into dark magick because they don't realize the loss if they don't touch the dark again and they reset their own balance, is, in fact, only temporary.  The problem is that your initial use of dark magick to bring Jeremy back to life and your continued use of dark magick afterward created an ever-deepening imbalance followed by The Spirits taking your natural powers, which just deepened your personal imbalance.  Now, you have all that imbalance and no powers, so naturally, you think all hope is lost, but, it’s not.  The Spirits are, in fact, only trying to teach you a valuable lesson.  In my humble opinion, how they go about it tends to make matters much worse, but you need to realize right now that all hope is not lost _unless_ you go back to that dark shit."

My baby girl has wide eyes, but she's nodding slowly, so Kol tells her, "Now the spell the witches did is a good start for returning the balance, but it only removed your addiction to the dark magick, not the imbalance it created.  So, if we find the spell I'm thinking of, well, actually it's more of a cleansing ritual than a spell and designed to be performed by someone with no current magickal abilities.  Anyway, if we find the spell and then have you do it, then it should restore your natural balance, and you should get your magick back."

Bonnie looks at Kol sitting across from her, and I smile when her eyes narrow because I can clearly see her reminding herself not to trust blindly so that she doesn't walk down the wrong path yet again so frowning she asks, "What exactly does this ritual entail?"

He chuckles with a smile on his face pleased that she's again not just taking his word for it, "That's good Bonnie, question _everything_ , even from those you think you can trust.  Now to answer your question, mostly it involves a bath in the ocean and some parsley and anise in a salt paste if I recall correctly."

He pauses and gazes at her for a minute, and then he asks, "Personally I think the sooner we do this, the less tempted you'll be to touch the dark again, so if you're not too terribly upset about missing the rest of the school day, we could go to my house now and look for the spell."

She stops and thinks for a minute before she smiles and tells him, "I don't mind this once, though, I can't miss too much, or I won't graduate this year."

He grins and tells her, "I won't cause you to miss much more than today."

Finishing the last of his coffee, he then stands and moves behind her helping her stand before placing his hand in the small of her back again.  She guzzles the remainder of her drink prompting him to laugh and tell her, "You could have brought it with you.  You didn't need to swallow it all down like it was a race."

Grinning sheepishly, she tells him, "I have a strict rule: No sugary or sweet drinks in unsealed containers in my car.  I've had at least four of these cups have the lid pop off when I grabbed hold of the cup, and I wound up spilling the drink all over myself and my car, so really I needed to guzzle it to keep my car from suffering any more."

He laughs again at that and nods before he directs her toward the trash where they toss their now empty coffee cups into the trash bin, and then he leads her out of the coffee shop and back into her car.


	6. Who's Afraid of the Big Bad Wolf

**Author's Note:** Many thanks to **laurenj15** (one of my beta Extraordinaires) for the fabulous title of this chapter.

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**Chapter 006**

**Who's Afraid of the Big Bad Wolf?**

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**Friday, December 03, 2010, 10:05 a.m.**

**The Mikaelson's Mansion**

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The crunch of gravel when Kol pulls into the Mikaelson's driveway reaches Elijah's ears while he sits in his study going over everything that's happened in the last 24 hours.  Even from the car Freya, Finn, Henri and I can hear his thoughts, _'I almost lost my brothers, again.  Ms. Bennett has done our family a great service, even though I am certain she didn't do it to help us but rather to save her friends most of whom are wholly undeserving of her regard.'_

Kol's car door closes, and then a few seconds later he opens Bonnie's door for her.  I think myself to the oldest original just when he gets up and sprints out into the foyer to the window beside the door.  When Kol puts his hand in the small of Bonnie's back and walks her towards the front door, Elijah thinks, _'Ah, Kol is obviously working extremely hard to make his goals come to fruition.’_  

About ten feet from the door, though, a thought occurs to my grandbaby, so she stops short causing Kol to stop abruptly before she asks, "Uh, I probably should have asked this earlier, but um, who all is here, and is everyone in your family going to be okay with me being here?"

Elijah smiles even while Kol chuckles and moves in front of Bonnie before he bends his knees to block her view of the front door.  Elijah apparently thinks very highly of my granddaughter because he thinks, _'She really is quite considerate.  I can't think of anyone else in her group that would think to ask if everyone in my family would be okay with her presence in our home.  Well after meeting with him this morning young Mr. Gilbert might, and Ms. Forbes probably would, too, if her other friends weren't present.  Those three though are the only ones in that group, though, that would even consider our opinions as worthy of their consideration.'_ Sadly, that is absolutely true.

Kol looks into Bonnie's crystalline green eyes while he tells her, "It sounds like Nik is in his studio painting." 

Her eyes widen at that just before she wonders, _'Exactly how good is their hearing that he can tell what Klaus is doing inside the house from outside the huge building?'_  

Elijah pulls away from the window while his brother continues his thought, "And Elijah arrived home early this morning after Nik called him last night and told him what happened at the Gilbert's house.  By the sounds of it he's pacing in the foyer waiting to speak to me, I'm sure."

Elijah and I both chuckle quietly at that last bit before Kol tells her, "In his explanation of the events that transpired last night Nik did not leave out that you essentially saved _both_ of our lives, so I’d guess that Elijah thinks very favorably about you right now."

Elijah nods to himself because he does, in fact, think incredibly favorably of my baby girl.  She prevented his family from suffering even further than they already have in recent times.  He smiles when Kol tells Bonnie, "As for my family's opinions on you being here in general, if you were Ms. Gilbert, noble Elijah would probably be the only one even remotely happy to see you, and even he is quickly getting fed up with her selfish attitude, but I doubt anyone has any issues with _you_."

Elijah thinks, _'That is also true.  Elena has been slowly but surely getting more and more selfish and I only just realized that she's always been selfish, even when I first met her.  However, her selfishness has only gotten worse the longer I've known her, and she has become quite bothersome of late.'_

Bothersome is one way of putting it.  The bratty baby vampire has repeatedly put my granddaughter and the rest of their friends in harm’s way, and from where I'm standing I can clearly see _and_ hear that she hasn't even given any thought to what might happen to her friends or even her own brother.  She knows what she wants, and she wants it no matter who gets hurt in the process.

I'm brought back to the conversation happening outside when Kol finishes his statement, "As I said, we're all pretty much grateful that you prevented our family from losing more members."  That prompts Elijah to nod slightly.

I can hear the frown in my ever-humble granddaughter's voice when she admits, "Um, I didn't really save either of you to save _you guys_.  I honestly didn't even think about the consequences _or_ benefits of saving the two of you.  I just knew that if I didn't save _everyone_ from dying, then those I personally cared about would all die gruesome and horrific deaths.  I would do anything to protect those I love including saving the lives of two vampires whom I, at the time, thought had spent a good chunk of _their_ time planning our demises.  So really, you and your family don't owe me anything because you only made it onto my list of people to save because not saving you would have resulted in everyone else dying.  Plus, I think you forget that I did try to kill Klaus on three other separate occasions, err four if you count the whole Esther mess."

Elijah chuckles again.  He's quite sure that she is the only one of her group that would have admitted everything she just said to any member of his family.  He smiles when Kol says, "We are all aware of the fact that your generosity and drive to save us was a result of our impending deaths causing a domino effect which would have essentially killed everyone you hold dear.  That said, it does not negate the fact that whether you intended to do it or not your actions resulted in my annoying older brother and I getting to see another sunrise from our own bodies.  For the record, the fact of the matter is, I definitely prefer living in my own handsome body, even if the other body I would have been inhabiting was my brother's less vulnerable and harder to harm body.  I wholly prefer my good looks over Nik's, and _you_ are ultimately the reason Nik and I are alive _and_ in our own bodies and even though it was unintentional on your part neither of us is likely to forget it soon."

Elijah smiles slightly and thinks, _'I'm not likely to forget it either, and if Ms. Bennett ever has need of a favor, or three, I will do my best to do whatever I can to assist her.'_  

He begins nodding again when Kol tells her, "As for the last part, Nik was trying to kill your best friend, so I think he'll overlook the first two times you tried to kill him.  Ultimately the need to save him the third time was because Esther forced you to participate in turning your other friend into an unstoppable original killing machine.  However, you personally saved Nik after the fact by protecting his body when it burned and sticking him in his annoying hybrid's body to further protect him."

She rushes to interrupt him, "That's another instance of your brother not dying meaning my friends also stayed alive."

I peek out the window and see that Kol is nodding before he says, "We all know that, but again your motivation for helping Nik does not negate the fact that you personally swallowed your pride and helped the creature you thought was the villain even if it was ultimately to save your loved ones again."

He pauses then confides, "The fact of the matter is, my big bro-ther," he chokes up and his voice cracks on the word brother before he continues, "My big brother would be dead and gone right now if you hadn't protected his body from burning when he was staked with the White Oak Stake."  He gets choked up again and softly says, "You _…_ _you_ did that, _you_ kept me from having to bury another brother, and I can't tell you how grateful Elijah, 'Bekah, and I are for that fact."

He takes a deep breath and then tells my granddaughter, "Regardless of the issues Nik and the rest of us have had, he's our brother, and we love him.  We would have hunted down every last one of you and killed you all if he had died because as I pointed out earlier, just as you and your group do, we protect those we love, and when that fails, we avenge them."

Elijah is nodding again, or still because everything his brother just said is 100% accurate.  No matter how angry any of the Mikaelson children have ever gotten with each other, they would never sit idly by while others attack their family.  Oh, they fight amongst themselves and bicker back and forth like homicidal little children more often than not.  However, even when Niklaus daggered their entire family, the only reason Elijah was going to kill the hybrid was that he thought Niklaus had buried their siblings at sea and they were irretrievable. 

Kol is still talking to Bonnie so I focus on his words before he tells my attentive grandbaby, "Now as for the end of your last comment, Nik knows as well as any of us how deceptive and conniving Esther could be.  She convinced us, five thousand-plus-year-old creatures, who knew her better than most, for in my case the first 19 almost 20 years of my life, that she only wanted to unite this family.  We shouldn't expect you, who was at the time a mere 18-years-old, with only a few hours of experience with the woman to have been able to see through her lies when we could not."

Kol pauses and puts his hands on Bonnie's upper arms and gently squeezes them while he says, "So no, Darling, I don't think anyone will take issue with you being here, but honestly I really don't care if they do or not.  This is my home too, and you are my friend and my guest.  Therefore, they will treat you with the respect I feel you deserve, or I will force them into compliance."

That's what my grandbaby is afraid of, and it's confirmed when she softly tells him, "My friends and I have caused you and your family just as many if not more hassles than you all have caused us.  I shouldn't make it worse by forcing my presence onto your siblings.  I don't want you forcing me on _anyone_.  I don't want to cause trouble, Kol.  "

Elijah and I look out the window again in time to see him drop his arms, stand up straight, and then he places his forearms on top of her shoulders before taking his right hand and tilting her chin up so he can look down into her eyes while she looks up at him.  Then frowning ever so slightly he tells her, "You're not causing anything of the sort, Darling.  As I said, if you were Ms. Gilbert, most of us would sooner kill you than put up with you in our personal space, but you're not my older brother's backstabbing annoying former blood bag, so it should be fine.  Besides, 'Bekah is at school, and she's the only one who might have an issue with you.  Although, I highly doubt she cares much whether you spend time with me or not.  She was incredibly pleased and openly grateful that you saved Nik and me, so her objection would only be about who your other friends are, especially given that it was their plan that almost got her brothers killed in the first place.  My entire family would agree that I'm a step up from Ms. Gilbert, so I imagine 'Bekah would say something inferring that you've finally gotten some sense into you."

Bonnie giggles softly and nods slightly before Kol drops his arms and takes her hands in his before squeezing gently and telling her, "I guarantee nothing bad will happen to you while you are here and that your presence won't be disruptive.  I need you to be the brave woman who marched into the Gilbert's house and took charge last night, okay?"

She nods gently so while she follows him into the house, Elijah quickly moves closer to the stairs.

When the door opens and his eyes land on my granddaughter Elijah tells her, “Ms. Bennett, I understand we have you to thank for Kol still being alive, Niklaus still having control of his body, and the new peace between our factions?"

He knows he just heard her argument regarding her actions however he thinks that perhaps if he reiterates what his brother has said it will take root in her mind. 

For her part, she realizes that he likely heard everything she and his brother just said, but she still nods slowly and tells him, "Um yes, I guess.  Kol, Jer, and I worked it out, and Kol promised the rest of you will follow his lead on this while Jer and I promised our friends will follow ours."

Elijah smiles warmly and says, "Thank you for saving my brothers.  Please know that no one in our family would willingly or purposefully incite Kol's displeasure if we can help it and certainly not in this instance where to do so would put us in more danger.  However, forgive me, if I'm not as confident in your friends' abilities or desire to adhere to your wishes.  You and young Mr. Gilbert, and Ms. Forbes to a slightly lesser degree, I trust to keep your words, but the others only care about themselves and what they want or need or more specifically what Elena wants, and they overlook entirely what others are saying or in need of.  If it serves _her_ purposes, they _will_ break your word in a heartbeat and not think twice about it."

Bonnie's eyes narrow while Elijah speaks but then her green orbs relax and so does her stance because she wishes she could argue with him, but the fact of the matter is, he's right.  Jeremy is the only one my baby girl completely trusts to keep their word and perhaps Caroline and Damon.  Although, if Damon thinks Elena's in danger, he won't hesitate to break their word.  Stefan and Elena, on the other hand, are sadly not really worried about her or Jeremy's honor, and Tyler is on a mission to find a way to kill Niklaus without killing himself.  Then there is Matt who will dutifully follow Elena's lead straight into Hell. 

She frowns and tells Elijah, "If they break our word, you'll have to get in line to set them straight because I won't hesitate.  As Kol pointed out to me earlier, other than Esther, whom I don't really count as a Mikaelson at this point, Klaus is the only one of your family who has attacked any of us without provocation, so if they break my word and attack you guys, I'm sure it will be unprovoked.  Especially because Klaus had stopped attacking us now that Elena is a vampire, and even before that he had mellowed on the aggression and had made a deal with Elena that he seemed to be keeping.  If you guys break Kol's word, I'll help him destroy all of you who are involved, but if my guys go back on _my_ word I'll get them all off Vervain and have you all compel them to keep the peace.  I firmly believe that we can all peacefully coexist in this town."

Elijah nods and smiles before telling her honestly, "As I said, _you_ I trust.  Now, I understand that Kol has promised to help you regain your natural powers."

When she nods in response to his words, he gives her a gentle smile and continues, "I believe the spell you need is in one of Esther's grimoires."  He turns and looks at his grinning brother before saying, "Kol, after you told me this morning of your plan to assist Ms. Bennett, I began trying to narrow down the list of books it might be in.  I've narrowed it down to ten books, and I left those ten on your desk.  I only ask that they not be taken out of the house without first consulting me."

Kol smiles wider and tells him, "Of course, Brother, thank you.  I know I have the spell in one of my books, but it would have taken a while to search thousands of books for it, so thank you."

Smiling Bonnie also tells him, "Yes, thank you, Elijah, I really appreciate your and Kol's help on this.  I know neither of you owes me anything, so I really appreciate your willingness to assist me despite our, uh, factions past differences." 

I can hear in her thoughts that she really means that, but her physiology tells both originals that she means that with all her heart too.  While Elijah knows that neither one of them owes her friends a damn thing he finds it nice to know that she is aware of that fact.  She seems appropriately humbled by the fact that he and Kol are going out of their way to help her, and she genuinely seems grateful for the opportunity they're trying to give to her.

As such Elijah smiles and tells her, "Kol thinks you're worthy of our consideration, so until you prove him wrong, I don't think any member of my family will have any issue with you or our helping you."

Bonnie smiles a crooked smile, and semi-jokingly says, "And having a local witch who owes you her powers wouldn't be too shabby either I'm sure."  She winks to show the brothers that she's really mostly joking.  She's smart enough to realize that with the connections existing for over a thousand years have afforded them, not to mention the fear and respect their power and ages give them, every single last original could very easily get a witch to help them without having to put in so much work first.

They both laugh before Elijah looks at her and says, "While that is certainly true, it is not the main motivating factor, not for Kol or me, that is.  I'm afraid the mere fact that you are friends with Elena might make our sister more willing to see you as a tool rather than a friend of this family, and don't get me started on Niklaus and his penchant for using people whenever it suits him."

Elijah smiles more deeply before saying, "You're an honorable woman, Ms. Bennett.  That alone makes you worthy of our assistance if we can give it.  Your bravery and moral compass _and_ the fact that you saved both of my brothers' lives last night are just additional reasons why I feel the need to assist my brother in his pursuit of helping you."

He turns his body slightly towards Kol and looks at him for a second or two before saying, "I'll be in my study if you have need of me for anything."

Kol smiles and nods before returning his hand to the small of my granddaughter's back and leading her towards the stairs.  When they get to the base of the stairs, Elijah tells them, "By the way, Kol, I made the calls you requested regarding young Mr. Gilbert and nurses to assist him now that he has lost both arms.  I felt he would be more likely to agree to utilize nurses if he was the one doing the hiring.  Therefore, after I made a list of the available nurses I went and visited him and explained that you and I wish to assist him.  I gave him the list I compiled of qualified personal nurses and made arrangements with him and them for him to interview each nurse later today so that he can choose the ones he's willing to work with."

"You did what?"  Bonnie's wide eyes and gaping mouth tell both men that she didn't even realize she spoke out loud until Elijah smiles and tells her, "Kol requested that I assist Mr. Gilbert in acquiring at least one personal nurse, so I did that while my brother was out with you."

She turns and looks at Kol, but before she can ask why he would do such a thing he smiles too and tells her, "I wasn't trying to kill Jeremy just to kill him.  I like him and have no issues with him provided he's not trying to raise Silas.  He was willing to sacrifice himself to save all of us, _including me_.  I figured the least I can do is help make his new reality as easy and livable as possible.  I don't imagine it will be easy for him acclimating to not having either of his arms, especially given how active I know he was beforehand, not to mention his ability and affinity for drawing.  This way he will at least have the assistance he needs to still have a relatively high quality of life."

He reaches up with both hands and wipes tears from Bonnie's cheeks.  She blushes, but she can't help the tears.  My grandbaby thinks it's incredibly sweet what Kol and Elijah did for Jeremy.  The truth is, once either brother or really any member of their family considers someone a friend it takes an awful lot to cause them to turn their backs on the person even if the person no longer considers _them_ a friend.  Therefore, Elijah wasn't surprised when Kol asked him to help Jeremy because he knew that Kol was quite fond of the boy while they were in Denver.

Kol frowns and echoes Elijah's thoughts when he tells my grandbaby, "Please don't cry, Darling.  I know Jeremy probably considers me his enemy, but, the fact of the matter is, that when we were Mates in Colorado, I wasn't faking it.  Oh sure, I was keeping an eye on him for Nik, but I genuinely enjoyed spending time with Jer.  He's a good kid, and he's funny, intelligent, and loyal, all of which are qualities I respect and value.  I still consider him my friend even though I know he likely does not return the sentiment."

My granddaughter's eyes are wide, and she's beginning to realize that Kol has depths that are quite deep and far more involved than anyone ever gives him credit for.  Elijah's thoughts tell me that people usually pigeonhole Kol as the short-tempered blood-thirsty member of their family.  According to Elijah, the truth is if Kol could keep his temper in check, he'd never kill anyone, and he knows that Kol feels terrible about every single death he's ever caused. 

Kol doesn't know his older brother is aware of his books full of his victims’ names and what little information he could glean about them, but Elijah is one of the few individuals in the world who has that knowledge.  Elijah's not even sure that Niklaus knows of their younger brother's lists of his victims.

Bonnie smiles through her tears and tells Kol, who is quickly sliding off her list of enemies and jumping firmly onto the list of her friends, "Thank you, Kol, not just for trying to help Jer but also for considering him a friend even though you're right, and he probably doesn't return your feelings.  It says a lot about you and your overall goodness that you still count him as a friend and would try to help him despite what his feelings on you might be."

Kol smiles until she gets to the part about his goodness then he playfully scowls and narrows his eyes.  When she finishes talking, he takes his hands from her cheeks and tells her, "I don't know how much goodness there is in me.  As the big, bad, psychotic maniac of Ms. Gilbert's nightmares I think I might resent the implication that there is _any_ goodness in me at all," before Bonnie or Elijah can argue with him he winks at them showing them he's not actually serious and then he finishes his statement, "but you're welcome all the same."

The big, bad, psychotic maniac of Elena's nightmares indeed.  She and the rest of them have no clue who Kol Mikaelson really is, but if he gets his way my baby girl will know him better than anyone else, and Elijah is hoping the seeds he planted with Jeremy might give Kol back his friend as well.

Bonnie smiles and nods before Kol turns and looks at his brother telling him in his proper British accent that Elijah himself lost sometime during the 19th Century while Kol was locked in his coffin, "Thank you, Brother, for taking care of that matter for me in such an expedient manner."

I chuckle out loud when my granddaughter thinks that she could swoon.  So far as she is concerned, he sounds just like a historical romance novel with his prim and proper language and that accent that most of the women Kol has encountered through the years felt was delectable.  Bonnie tends to agree with them all. 

Elijah just nods in response and then turns and walks out of the room.

Kol and Bonnie walk up the stairs and then down a hallway.  They then turn down another hallway and walk past four doors before Kol stops and opens the fifth door for her.  She walks into the room not sure what to expect from a bedroom belonging to a man who claims he's so good at sex he should be paid to do it, but we both think that the space is nice, comforting, and calming even.  The floor is a honey colored wood with navy blue and hunter green throw rugs laying here and there, and there are solid hunter green and navy drapes on the windows and a coordinating 'manly' checkered patterned comforter and solid colored pillows on the California King bed.

Bonnie just stands there staring at the huge bed and fights hard not to imagine the sorts of things Kol gets up to in that gigantic bed that has plenty of room for him and a friend to roll around in.  She thinks, _'We could get up to all sorts of fun on that huge bed, hmm.'_  

I laugh at that thought, and even though I know, she can't hear me I tell my granddaughter, "Oh Baby Girl, you've got it bad already.  If I know Kol, he'll feed that attraction until it becomes undying love."

I jump slightly when Finn rests his hand on my shoulder and tells me, "Fear not, Sheila, Kol will cherish her and protect her even to his own detriment.  If given a choice between protecting Bonnie and anyone else the only ones who might fare better are our siblings, but that's right now.  I'm getting the impression that when it's all said and done all my siblings will put Bonnie and her safety and happiness above all others.  As much as anyone can guarantee this sort of thing I am certain my family will cherish her and do whatever necessary to keep her safe and happy."

I raise my eyebrow at him and tilt my head to the side before I ask, "Even Niklaus?"

He laughs and says, "Yes, even Niklaus.  Despite his penchant for daggering us, he's fiercely loyal.  If your granddaughter offers him her friendship and doesn't try to betray his trust, then he will give her his undying loyalty.  Listen to his thoughts while he's down in his studio."

I focus and then hear, _'The Little Witch seems comfortable with Kol and Elijah.  I hope Kol's plan works.  It'd be nice to have a new little sister whom we can show the world to.  Maybe if I show her that I can be loyal and a fierce friend she'll put in a good word for me with Caroline.'_   I imagine the hybrid shrugs just before he thinks, _'Either way, Kol says Bonnie is going to be a member of this family and family is everything to us.  If he thinks she's worthy of being a Mikaelson, then I'll give her a fair chance.  Honestly, out of all her friends, Caroline included, I think Bonnie's the most likely to keep our new truce and not just because of what breaking it would mean for her and her friends.  I think she's a woman of her word and I've overheard enough conversations between her and her friends to know that her friends' penchants for breaking their collective word rankles her good mood almost as much as it does ours.'_

I'm distracted by Henri laughing before he says, "Your granddaughter has quite the vivid imagination."

I tune back into her thoughts in time to see her opinions on what she wouldn't mind doing with Kol in his big bed.  I smile despite myself and my still firm belief that she is far too young to be doing those sorts of things.

When Kol places his hand on her shoulder, she jumps surprised by the unexpected touch, so he moves closer behind her and places both hands on her shoulders before he leans down to her ear and he tells her, "Relax Darling, I may very well be a lot of horrible things, but a rapist is not one of them."

He incorrectly mistook her distraction for fear, so Bonnie hurries to correct him, "I'm not scared of you, Kol, and I'm especially not scared that you're going to do _that_ sort of thing."

He walks around to stand in front of my granddaughter and looks down into her upturned face and asks, "Then why are you trembling with a hammering heartbeat that's almost as fast and hard as it was when we first got into your car at the Salvatore's house?"

Frowning she tells him, "Um, I don't know why my body is doing either of those things, but I wasn't imaging you forcing yourself on me.  I actually thought that your bed is big enough for you and a friend to comfortably and safely roll around in, but I definitely didn't think about you forcing yourself on me."

He's frowning with narrowed eyes, so she tells him, "I mean it, Kol.  I might have, God, this is embarrassing, I might have begun imaging _me_ as your friend in that scenario, but I wasn't unwilling."

He smiles rakishly, so she hurries to add, "In the _daydream,_ I wasn't unwilling, but like I said earlier, I'm not sleeping with you.  I'm a teenage girl, though, with raging hormones, so naturally, the sight of your gigantic bed gave me naughty thoughts, as you put it earlier.  And given your insistence that you're so good at sex that you ought to be paid to do it, can you really blame me for my mind going there when I walked into your bedroom with you?"

He laughs and says, "No, I suppose not, and I can smell the fruity and woodsy scent now.  It's harder in rooms without a breeze for us to pick up scents like that unless you move or I'm right next to you, and you are what I’ll call seriously turned on, as in a step away from choosing to act on your thoughts."

The fact that he can smell that at all has her cheeks burning in embarrassment, and she fights to keep eye contact with him.  He smiles a cheeky grin and then turns and waves his arm while he says, "Welcome to my room.  I'll behave and pretend I don't know that you were daydreaming about my big bed and me but be sure and let me know if you decide to change your mind and act out any of those naughty thoughts you've had about me today."

Despite her ever-deepening blush she smiles and nods before telling him, "Believe me, if I change my mind, you'll be the first and probably the only person I'd tell at that moment."

He grins at that while he looks at her, but she ignores his incredibly pleased smile and takes in the rest of the room.  Two stuffed leather chairs take up one corner of the room.  She can barely see the cream-colored paint on the walls because almost every available wall space has honey colored bookshelves built into them.  His room has the faint aroma she associates with old books, and that's because on most of the shelves are books whose spines lead us both to believe that they are probably very, very old and hand bound, so they're likely grimoires. 

She thinks, _'Wow, there are a lot of them,'_ and this probably isn't all of them because there are stacks of wooden boxes piled up in front of a row of bookshelves, and if one of the open boxes is any indication, they all have even more grimoires inside them. 

He takes a step back and returns his hand to the small of her back before he leads her to a door and into what is apparently his study where there are even more bookshelves full of spell books and, yes, even more boxes full of tomes.

Kol pauses and then tells my granddaughter, "Please forgive the mess.  Despite my being daggered by Nik seven different times, most of which were for at least a few decades at a time, my siblings were very good about making sure they collected and either brought with them all of my belongings when they inevitably fled wherever they were to avoid Mikael.  That or they hid everything if they didn't have the time or the ability to take it all with them.  Therefore, I have some six centuries worth of things, mostly spell books.  I recently sent for my things.  However, with Esther's plans and my unexpected but not unpleasant trip out to Denver, I haven't had a chance to finish unpacking." 

Nodding she grins and tells him, "No worries."  She pauses then adds, "I thought Dr. Martin had a lot of grimoires, but I think you easily have him beat.  Although, I suppose that makes sense given your age versus his when he died."

Frowning he turns to look at her and asks, "Who was Dr. Martin?"

Bonnie's brows draw together before she tells Kol, "Dr. Jonas Martin, he was Elijah's witch when he first came to town.  We wound up killing his son, Luka, and then him when he tried to retaliate.  Incidentally, his daughter, Gretta, was Klaus' witch when _he_ came to town.  Anyway, Damon, I think, killed Luka when he was trying to free Elijah after Elena daggered him, and then Katherine killed Dr. Martin when he tried to kill Elena in retaliation for Luka's death.  I think Damon might have killed Greta too, but I'm not sure.  Honestly, I was so worried about Elena and upset about Jenna's death and the fact that Klaus got away that the whole night of his sacrifice was kind of a blur." 

She shakes her head to rid it of those sad thoughts and then while he stands beside her she tells him, "Anyhow, Dr. Martin had an extensive collection of grimoires, I'm talking a couple thousand books at least, which I now possess.  I had to add bookcases to my bedroom and the two spare rooms.  It took me, Jer, Elena, Damon, and Stefan about eight hours and multiple car trips to transport it all from the apartment Jonas shared with Luka to my house and then a few more hours for Jer and me to get it all into my house.  The collection takes up every bit of shelf space in the three rooms and then some.  Given that when Grams died I also inherited her even more extensive collection, as well as the pretty vast collection that Abby left behind when she left town, I probably have close to eight or nine thousand books, maybe even more really."

I look at my three companions and tell them, "Honestly I had probably 9,000 books on my own, so I'm quite sure the number of grimoires she now owns far exceeds that number.  I watched when she moved Dr. Martin's collection, and while I didn't actually count, it looked to be on par with my collection, so she might actually have double what she thinks she has."

They nod at me just before Kol nods at Bonnie.  She smiles and continues, "I've also begun collecting grimoires on my own any time I come across them in antique stores or used bookstores."

Smiling wider, she tells him, "There's this great little bookstore two towns over that I visit just about every week and I usually find four or five old grimoires each week.  Every now and then the owner will have cases much like you have full of grimoires from estate sales and the like, so I've been quickly multiplying the size of my collection.  My dad keeps telling me to stop buying more because I don't really have room for the ones I already have.  I usually time it so that I can sneak them into the house without him knowing.  Because I still have piles of books on the floors and beds of the two spare rooms and walls of boxes of books in the basement and attic that just don't fit on any of the shelves I don't think he knows that I'm still actively collecting.  Mr. Saunders, the owner of the bookstore, was a friend of Grams'.  He got books for her, too, so he calls me anytime he thinks he has something I might be interested in."

Frank Saunders was a good friend, and he seems to be extending that friendship to my granddaughter, which might prove useful to Bonnie and Kol alike.

Grinning she says, "Like I said I go just about every week just to look through his shelves and I almost always find four or five books that he didn't realize he had."

Kol's eyes are wide, but he smiles and says, "Maybe someday after you trust me you can show me some of your collection."

She pauses and thinks, _'Maybe I will share them with him someday if he proves himself to be as trustworthy as I'm beginning to suspect he might actually be,'_ so she just nods before telling him, "Maybe.  Uh, don't get mad but last night, after uh I um, well once Shane was dead I maybe called movers to collect all the books and artifacts as well as all his electronics in his office and his apartment.  I used some of my accumulated allowance to expedite the process, so they went and packed everything last night and brought it all over to my house first thing.  And the reason I told you not to get angry is that mostly I took his witchy books and artifacts, including Silas' tombstone so that no one else can get their hands on any of it.  I figure that sort of stuff should be kept behind lock and key and firmly away from anyone who might be inclined to go looking for Silas or The Cure."

Kol is frowning, but he nods and says, "If you promise not to use any of his books without first checking with me _and_ your mother about the safety of whatever you want to do, then I won't get angry."

Nodding she smiles and tells him honestly, "Oh, I have no plans to ever use any of it, but I promise I will check with both of you if I change my mind.  I just couldn't bring myself to burn the stuff.  I kind of have a thing for books and artifacts so I got nauseous at the thought of destroying any of it, not because I want to use any of it but because it's _history,_ and, well, I just couldn't bring myself to destroy it all no matter how dangerous it actually is."

Bonnie smiles softly at Kol and tells him, "If I grow to trust you more I might entrust you with keeping it all safe, especially once I die because you'll likely be around forever.  For now, my wards on my house that I put up before I lost my powers that keep out anyone who has ill intentions should keep everything safe, and once I get my powers back, I'll beef up the protections even more."

Well, damn, I forgot about those wards.  Now, I have no doubts that Kol has no ill intentions where my granddaughter is concerned.  He wouldn't have been able to enter her home last night despite Rudy's invitation into the house if the original had any intention of harming either Bonnie or her good-for-nothing father.

I'm brought back to the present when Kol grins and says, "There's a bit of time before we need to worry about what will happen when you die, but I agree anything he had should be kept under lock and key so that no one gets any ideas about resurrecting The First Bloody Immortal.  However, if you ever need me to compel anyone to forget that his belongings moved to your house the day after he died, you just let me know.  I'll be more than happy to help out and make all individuals interested in that fact forget it ever happened."

I laugh when he says there's a bit of time before they need to worry about what will happen when my grandbaby dies.  If he gets his way the girl, who was my reason for existing after my daughter fled town, won't ever die.

Bonnie nods because she wholeheartedly agrees with her companion's sentiment that no one should ever go looking for Silas.  She smiles, though, despite her preferring not to compel more people than necessary and tells him, "I'll keep your offer in mind, though I'd really rather not compel anyone unless it's absolutely necessary, so if I can avoid it, then I will."

Kol grins and tells her, "Despite what you and your friends probably think of my family and me, we actually agree with that rule of thumb.  I mean don't get me wrong, compulsion is incredibly helpful in not only getting what we want but in protecting us and those we care about.  However, we usually exhaust all other options before using compulsion because we all understand what it feels like to have our free will taken from us without our permission, and we would prefer not to do the same to anyone else if we can prevent it.  Although, to be honest, more often than not, whoever is usually so unwilling to cooperate that compulsion becomes our only recourse to keep us and ours safe and sound."

She nods while he talks, and then she smiles when her eyes fall on the three piles of grimoires on his desk that she hopes has the spell they need in one of them.  She stares at the stacks for a moment before thinking, _'Please, Lord Jesus, please let the spell we need be in one of those books, and let it work the way Kol thinks it will.'_

While she's praying Kol walks to the desk and picks up one of his mother's grimoires before turning and looking at Bonnie again, and then he leans against his desk and asks, "What languages can you read?"

She smiles and tells him, "One of The Martin Family's grimoires had a spell to make me able to read, write, and speak any language I encounter regardless of what form of it I'm exposed to, so I pretty much know every language and dialect."

He laughs and nods before he says, "My siblings and I did a similar spell back a few months before Esther did The Immortality Spell.  Fortunately, the effect remained intact even after we became vampires, a fact I have always been grateful for."

Smiling he tells her, "As I'm sure you can imagine, it has come in rather handy through the years, especially with us being on the run from Mikael.  No matter where we wound up we immediately knew the local language and dialect as though we were native speakers.  Needless to say, it definitely made blending in much easier."

His grin turns slightly evil looking before he tells my grandbaby, "Incidentally, Mikael's general attitude towards outsiders was an 'us and them' kind of mentality, so he preferred to keep us all insular and therefore did not participate in the spell."

Amazingly Kol's grin manages to grow deeper and broader before he confides in his companion, "Actually the close-minded arse forbid us from attempting the spell but Nik, Henri, and I actually managed to talk the others into disobeying.  I'm not exactly certain how we managed to convince Finn or Elijah given their propensity for following rules, but we did, and it proved incredibly useful throughout the years."

His grin turns into a cold smirk before he says, "Mikael's not understanding local languages helped us spot him faster while he tracked us because he always had to pause and learn the local language before he could get any answers out of anyone." 

He pauses then his smirk morphs back into a warm smile, which grows wider before he tells her, "Anyway, I was asking because Esther's books are written in her native tongue, Old Norse, and her ancestors' books, which a few of these look to be, are written in Proto-Norse.  If you did that spell, then you should have no problem understanding what any of them have written, though I'm warning you now, Esther's handwriting was atrocious."

Bonnie laughs and takes the book he hands her before he motions towards one of the leather chairs that sit kitty-corner to the rest of the room.  She puts the book on the seat of the chair before she takes off her jacket, lays it on the back of the chair, picks the book back up, and then sits.  Pausing after she opens the book, she realizes that she has no clue what she's looking for, so she asks, "So what exactly am I looking for?"

Kol frowns while he takes off his green coat to reveal a dark and light blue Henley that Bonnie thinks really looks better on him than she wishes it did.  _'Does he have to be so HOT and so damn distracting?'_  

After he sits in front of her, he pauses for a minute, fingering the edge of the book in his hands not saying anything then he says, "I believe it's called 'A Spell to Return the Balance' or some variation of that.  Honestly, it's been years since I've looked through Esther's books, obviously because I was daggered for a little over 294 of the last 309 years.  Furthermore, although I have perfect recall every time I wake from being daggered everything kind of blends together for a year or two after the fact, so all the spells I've read from every witch I've known have somewhat blended into each other in my memory.  It should be a temporary phenomenon if past instances are any indication, but currently, it's still all jumbled together, especially because I've found the effect is stronger and lasts longer the more time I spent daggered, and this last instance I spent just under 96 years daggered so…"

Bonnie smiles gently and tells him, "Well, that kind of makes sense because you have more than six centuries' worth of memories to remember and your brain was, I assume, turned off while you were daggered, so it sort of needs to restart itself and then reorder and recatalog everything."

He nods but tells her, "I was on the Otherside while daggered and had full use of my memories while there, so I think it actually has something to do with the process of being revived almost as though the revival causes a glitch in my brain that causes it to reset itself.  Then it needs to, as you said, recatalog everything before I can access it all without putting in so much effort to sort it all out."

Bonnie smiles and nods before she tells him, "That actually makes a strange sort of sense to me.  Uh, if you don't want to answer, or more specifically if you don't think they'd want you too, then don't answer, but do you know if your siblings have experienced the same thing?"

Kol smiles back and tells her, "I doubt they'd mind you knowing, so yes we've discussed it, mostly while on the Otherside, but we've discussed it and all four of us have experienced the same phenomenon.  I know Finn was struggling with it when he woke because he had been daggered for just under nine centuries.  Though he spent the most time daggered, I've actually been daggered more times than any of the others.  Actually, I think I've been daggered on more occasions than all of the others combined."

He pauses and reflects on the past then tells my curious grandbaby, "As a result, I have the most experience with the phenomenon.  I figured out that it usually amounts to about three weeks for every year I was daggered.  I plan to keep track of how long it takes this time and see if it fits with my hypothesis.  If I'm correct, it should take me about five and a half years to have full unhindered access to all of my memories."

Bonnie tilts her head and frowns and says, "That sucks."  She pauses then adds in a fierce voice, "Do me a favor okay?  Hit Klaus up the side of the head for me for making you put up with that annoyance."

He laughs loudly, and, in his mind, I hear his two older brothers chuckling too.  Her eyes widen, and her mouth forms a little 'o' before she giggles and says, "Um, I didn't actually mean to say that out loud.  Ignore me."

He chuckles and says, "Trust me the urge has been there without you even suggesting I do such a thing."

My granddaughter giggles even more and then once she calms herself she says, "If it wouldn't break the truce I'd give him a migraine for a while as payback for you and Rebekah, Elijah, and Finn having to deal with that.  It's probably really frustrating, right?  I think it'd drive me batty."

Bonnie is slowly beginning to see him as her friend, so she smiles gently when he shrugs with a short burst of laughter but then nods slightly.  She nods back then tells him, "Well, even without the glitch, I think after a century or two anyone would have trouble separating out which spell was where and what the exact title was Eidetic Memory or not.  If I get the courage, I'll ask Klaus if he's noticed anything like that, but until then I'm going to go with time being an enemy to good memories too."

Kol laughs again, still, and then nods once more before he opens his book, so she follows suit.

Almost two and a half hours and several books later, Kol looks up and smiles at Bonnie before he says in a soft yet incredibly pleased voice, "I think I found it."

He hands her the book, and she reads the spell and its notes before pausing, stopping and thinking for a minute, and then rereading it. 

I say out loud, "That's it Baby Girl, think it through.  You have the right idea."

Finn's eyes are wide when he turns to look at me and asks, "You don't actually think her idea will work do you?"

I smile and tell him, "I'm fairly certain it will work just like she's beginning to think it will."

Finn frowns deeper and asks, "And you don't object to her suggesting he try it?"

I smile and pat him on the shoulder, "Even though I know the reputation the five of you have had through the years I know all of you, except Niklaus, well enough to know that they won't abuse it if she gives them this gift."

Henri nods and tells Finn, "I don't even think Nik would abuse it if given a chance to be whole again."

Freya and I nod.  Meanwhile Bonnie has been working things out in her mind, so she gets a curious look on her face, and after reading it for the third time, she looks up at Kol sitting in front of her and asks, "Uh, Kol, have you ever tried this ritual on yourself?"

Frowning, he leans back in his chair before kicking his feet out in front of himself and crossing them.  He pauses a moment then he asks, "No, why would I?"

She smiles and bounces her knees a bit before she blows his mind, "Because if you think about it, your mother used _really_ dark magick to turn you, right?  That caused an imbalance.  If you get rid of the imbalance she created within you, then your magick should return to you, no?  I mean I can clearly see your aura, and it's littered with gaping holes just like Abby said mine is now, so if this spell will fix the problem in me, then wouldn't it theoretically fix the same problem in you…?"

Kol frowns more deeply before he sits forward and rests his elbows on his spread knees.  It honestly never occurred to him to try the spell on himself.  He thinks, _'It can't be that easy can it?'_  He knows my grandbaby's instincts are strong, though, so he tells her the only thing he can think of that might very well smash that hope he sees written all over her face while she looks at him, "But I'm still a vampire, so the imbalance would still be happening."

Shaking her head, she tells him, "See I don't think so.  You said you can see auras, right?  I don't see any black smudges, so I don't think the imbalance is still happening.  It looks like you have soft grey on a few of the edges of the big holes, so you probably had smudges back when your mother did the initial spell, but now the black is practically non-existent."

Pausing, my very intelligent grandbaby asks him, "Has your brothers' and sister's auras gotten worse over time or have they been pretty much the same since you turned?  I think it was the initial magick that created the imbalance, not your actual vampirism, so now if you clear out the initial imbalance, I think you would all be relatively even-keeled."

He sits and thinks for a minute.  _'Holy Shit, it might actually be that easy because the black smudges have in fact gotten lighter and lighter over time and the holes in my siblings' auras have not gotten worse with one notable exception.'_  

A moment later his eyes widen before he tells her, "Their auras have been the same for the most part except for the black smudges lightening like you described.  Although, Nik's holes and smudges both got significantly worse when Esther cursed him.  I think they've also gotten significantly better now that the curse has been lifted, so you might be right about that."

Bonnie smiles and asks, "So you'll try it?"

Kol grins revealing his dimples that Bonnie hadn't noticed before and asks, "Is it wise to give an original even more power?"

She nods, "The Spirits will keep you in check."

His smile and the dimples that my granddaughter finds cute and surprisingly lick-able all vanish into thin air when he frowns and shakes his head, "They are reactionary at best.  They didn't prevent Esther from turning us.  They only punished her after the fact and not nearly as severely as I feel she deserved."

My grandbaby knows that, and she thinks it speaks to Kol's character that he's even bringing it up, so she nods with a smile on her face and tells him, "I know, but you've spent the last thousand years without your magick.  I think that's motivation enough not to go down the wrong path because The Spirits would likely take your magick again and probably wouldn't give it back to you for at least as long, if ever, so that will be your scale to judge everything by like you said my grams' opinion will be mine…"

He smiles a soft smile again because she really is brilliant.  The fact of the matter is, if Kol can get his magick back, he will happily toe the line for the rest of eternity, well unless he loses his legendary temper, but he won't intentionally set out to create evil.  Still smiling he asks Bonnie, "So you think I want my magick back more than I want to wreak havoc and cause evil?"

She nods deeply, and I know she's basing that opinion on how badly _she_ wants _her_ own magick back, and she's smart enough to realize that it's only been about a month for her.  She still can't begin to fathom going a thousand years without her magick, so she nods before Kol laughs and tells her, "You might just be right about that, Little Witch."

Smiling, she reads the spell for a fourth time.  It's relatively straightforward.  Bathe in the ocean, place a salt, parsley, and anise paste on each of their Chakras in the shape of a pentagram, wait 27 minutes and then take another bath in the ocean.  The only words are the equivalent of 'Oh Shining One, please return the balance to me.'

Bonnie looks up at Kol when he clears his throat before he asks, "So do you want to get a second opinion, or do you want to get the salt, parsley and anise and head to the ocean now and do it?"

Her smile fills her face at the fact that he was serious about suggesting and encouraging her to get a second opinion on every spell he might suggest she do.  The relaxing of her muscles and facial features, as well as her thoughts, tell me that her gut says it's safe, but thankfully she really did learn her lesson, so she takes her phone out of her pocket causing Kol's smile to deepen because it was a trick question. 

Thankfully she passed the test without any difficulty.  She giggles and tells him, "Sneaky vampire, don't think I don't realize that that was a trick question, Mr. Mikaelson."

She laughs while Kol sits back in his chair again with a wide grin and tells her, "It was at that, Darling, and you passed with flying colors.  I told you before, your instincts are strong, but you're also willing to learn from your past mistakes, and that bodes well for your future.  Our time together this morning confirmed for me that you are highly intelligent.  I really do think you will quickly learn what is within and outside The Laws of Nature.  Pretty quickly you won't actually need to confer with a more experienced witch, but I will encourage you to continue doing so for a while after as a safety net, so to speak."

My granddaughter nods and tells him honestly, "I'm probably going to ask Abby and you for your opinions on everything magickal I might consider doing for the foreseeable future because I want nothing more than to never hurt Grams again."

Kol nods slowly and tells her, "Thank you for your trust as fledgling as it may be.  I promise I will do my best to protect you and keep you from making dangerous choices for as long as you will allow me to."

She nods and then pausing before she dials Abby, she looks at her screen.  Her eyes widen, and she thinks, _'Oh my God.'_

She somehow put her phone on silent today, so she's missed, wow, 86 calls and 206 text messages.  Well damn.  I wondered why her friends hadn't called but chalked it up to God looking out for her and Kol and assisting him in bringing his plan to fruition. 

It's a fortuitous thing that they haven't gotten in touch with her because if they discover that she suggested he try to do the spell too, it will only end in disaster.  Now I know they did try to check up on her, so it really must be Jesus looking out for the future mates. 

Bonnie thinks, _'Oh well, I'll call them back later when I'm done hanging out with Kol because them finding out I suggested he try to do the spell, too, will only end with them trying something stupid.'_  

My baby girl turns her ringer back on, though, and then she dials my selfish daughter's phone and waits.  Abby picks up on the third ring, "Bonnie, is everything okay?  No adverse side effects from the cleansing?"

Bonnie smiles and confirms Kol's earlier belief when she tells Abby, "My body still aches deep in my bones, and I feel like I have a bass drum being pounded on in my head, but that's not why I called.  I want to do a spell, or actually, it's more of a cleansing ritual, and its purpose is to return my internal balance, so I'll be less tempted to go back to the dark magick.  I've learned my lesson, though, about just trusting random people bearing spells, so I was wondering if I can translate it for you over the phone, and you can tell me if it sounds safe to you."

Abby sighs, and I can clearly hear the relief in her voice when she tells Bonnie, "You don't know how happy I am that you're being more cautious, so go ahead and read it to me, and I'll tell you if I hear any red flags."

She smiles and reads the spell and ingredient list to her mother.  When she finishes there is a pregnant pause, then Abby asks, "Bonnie, where did you get that spell?"

Bonnie looks up at Kol sitting in front of her and obviously knows that he's listening to both sides of the conversation.  She smiles slightly and then mouths, 'Can I tell her?'

He bobs his head with a pleased smile on his face, so she says, "My friend, Kol, found it in his mother's old grimoire."

He smiles wider when she calls him her friend.  He doesn't think she entirely means it quite yet, and I tend to agree, but it is a step in the correct direction.  Her mother, however, is not pleased when she says, "Oh.  Wait, Kol?  As in Kol Mikaelson, Esther's son, _the vampire_?"

Bonnie sighs and tells Abby, who has no right to make judgments on how my granddaughter chooses to live her life, "Yes, he and I have come to an understanding.  Plus, last night he encouraged me to let go of the dark magick, which in turn caused me to be more willing to allow your friends to do The Cleansing Spell.  So far, he hasn't suggested anything suspicious, and he encouraged me to get a second opinion not just on this spell but on _any_ he might later suggest I do, so I'm inclined to believe that he doesn't have villainous intentions."

I can hear the frown in my daughter's voice when she asks, "I thought he was trying to kill the Gilberts?"

Bonnie sighs again and rubs the back of her neck with her free hand but tells her mother, "He wasn't trying to kill them _just_ to kill them.  He was just trying to prevent them from raising Silas, The First Immortal Being, who would have brought about The End of Days.  Jeremy and I negotiated with Kol, and although Jer had to make a pretty big sacrifice, Kol has promised that he and his family will let us live in peace so long as we do the same for them.  Kol even removed his compulsion from Damon this morning, so he's no longer trying to kill Jer either."

She pauses then asks, "So the spell…"

Abby sighs but tells her daughter honestly, "It's incredibly simple, far simpler than The Cleansing and Balancing Ritual I had in one of the books I left behind when I left town.  I was going to suggest you look for that spell, but the one you just read to me is just as good.  I'm actually surprised Kol's spell is not more widely known and used it's so simple and basic, but it should do exactly what you think it will without any negative side effects."

Bonnie sighs before she asks, "So it's safe then?"

My selfish daughter is obviously frowning, but she tells _her_ daughter the truth when she says, "I can't think of any conceivable way to make it unsafe, so, yes, it should be safe for you to do."  Her voice is tighter than usual, so I know she is not happy to have to admit that.

My grandbaby seems not to notice her mother's displeasure before she smiles widely and says, "Awesome, thank you." 

Her smile loses some of its brightness before she asks her mother, "Uh, can I call in the future when I want to do a spell and run it by you until I get better versed in what the red flags you mentioned are?"

We can all hear the smile in Abby's voice when she says, "Yes, of course, I'll be happy to go over any spell work you want to perform before you try it."

Bonnie smiles and tells her mother whom she barely knows, "Okay, thank you."

"You're welcome, Bonnie.  I know I probably don't have the right to be, but I'm proud of you for being cautious and learning from your mistakes."

I frown.  My selfish daughter most definitely has no right whatsoever to feel pride for my granddaughter because she selfishly abandoned Bonnie to fend for herself against her abusive father and in no way, shape, or form helped raise her daughter into the fine young woman she truly is. 

Even without having all the facts Kol agrees with my opinion, but he keeps that to himself while Bonnie instead tells my self-centered daughter, "Thanks, so I'll call later and tell you how it goes, okay?"

We can all hear the strain in Abby's voice when she says, "Okay.  And Bonnie, I know you think you can trust Kol, but remain cautious until he proves beyond a shadow of a doubt that he is deserving of your trust.  Until then, and hell even after that, question everything that comes out of his mouth and every move he makes."

Bonnie frowns deeply and with furrowed brow tells her overstepping mother, "I will, I've got to go now, bye," and then she hangs up without waiting to hear my narrow-minded daughter's response.

Bonnie's cheeks are burning and turning red at the fact that my selfish daughter was warning her about Kol with him sitting right there listening, so she looks up at him and says, "Sorry about that she—"

Kol smiles while he interrupts her, "Don't be, she obviously loves you and is merely trying to look out for you."

I highly doubt that my self-centered daughter loves anyone other than herself, but he doesn't have all the facts yet, so I won't hold his misinterpretation against him.

He continues despite my distraction, "She's not wrong either.  I was serious when I said it's understandable and even advisable for you not to trust me fully just yet.  While I have every intention of earning and then keeping your trust for the rest of your existence I know that that will take time.  I'd be worried about you even more than I already am if you were blindly trusting me, especially after what happened with the professor.  You are a fast learner, though, and you seem able to remind yourself to be cautious every time you should be, so I have high hopes for you." 

He smiles while he says, "I think your progress will be rather speedy all things considered.  Though, don't mistake my words, I'm just under three decades over a thousand years old.  I've studied magick for all but four of the years I was not daggered, and I'm including my human years in that number, yet to this very day, I am _still_ learning new things about magick every single day.  Although you will quickly learn, the learning process will never truly end, and that's as it should be.  I've heard some modern people mention trying to learn at least one new thing every day, and that is true of most witches, though, honestly, they probably manage to learn multiple new things every day.  I honestly think you will be no different until the day you die."

Bonnie thinks, _'Um wow, okay.'_   Her shoulders relax slightly at his encouraging words.  A pleased smile spreads across her face at the fact that he thinks so highly of her even though she got entangled with dark magick.  She's beginning to believe, or maybe realize is the more accurate word, but she's beginning to realize that his words are 100% genuine and that he really doesn't want to lead her down the wrong path, so she just nods and then asks, "So when can we do this?"

He smiles and says, "Well, if you want to, we can go to your house and get your bathing suit and the necessary ingredients, and then I can run us to the shore and be back before sunset probably."

Bonnie nods because the sooner they do this, the happier she'll be, but she pauses.  I frown when my precious grandbaby wonders, _'Will my one piece cover the bruises littered across my torso?  Do I have any on my legs?  It'll probably cover what I need to be covered, or I hope so at least because I really don't want to have to answer uncomfortable questions.'_

She smiles despite her dark thoughts and asks, "Okay, so are you going to try it, too?"

Kol smiles and shrugs, "Why not, Darling, I figure it can't hurt, so I might as well try and know for certain whether it will work or not."

She smiles wider and nods but tells him, "If it does work on you, it should work on Elijah and Rebekah too, though I'm not sure if nature will give Klaus his Magic back because he's already a hybrid.  I mean his aura has holes too, so it should fix it, but I'm still kind of leaning towards believing he's probably about as balanced as he can get, though your motto is probably still best, so if it works he should try it too just to be sure."

Kol's disbelieving eyes are wide, and he just stares at her with a slack jaw for a moment before he asks, "You're actually encouraging me to try returning Nik's magick to him even knowing how powerful he is already?"

My selfless granddaughter nods slowly because the truth is that she thinks that if he gets his magick back, he'll mellow out a lot and be less inclined to go on killing sprees.  She believes that's true for all of them, so really by attempting to return their magick to them, she's trying to do the world a favor. 

Kol said it himself in the car, the loss of his magick only made his heightened emotions and the sensitivity of his hairpin trigger a million times worse.  Bonnie thinks that if she can help return his magick to him and his siblings, then it might help them have better control over their baser instincts.  Plus, she's only been without her natural powers for a little more than a month, so she feels moved to help remove that pain from all of them if she can.

Finn smiles at me and says, "You raised a remarkable young woman, Sheila."

I nod but tell him, "I did what my mother did and her mother before her.  I don't know where I went wrong with Abby, but I reassure myself that that failure has not completely messed with my raising of Bonnie."

Henri and Freya each take one of my hands in theirs and squeeze before Henri tells us, "It really hasn't.  She will make an excellent addition to our family."

I just nod while Bonnie smiles slightly and tells Kol, "If Klaus can get it back then it's meant to be.  I've only been without my magick for about a month and, well, frankly it sucks, big time, so I can't imagine what any of you have felt having had your magick stolen from you for over a thousand years.  I wouldn't wish that pain, _or_ that emptiness, on my worst enemy, and we've already established that your family is no longer my enemy.  Therefore, if it'll work, then yeah, I'll support him trying it.  Though, my gut really does think his being part wolf will interfere and keep him from getting his magick back.  Although, that might just be my subconscious' fear of what a magick wielding hybrid might do to my friends.  However, we have a truce, and I may not know all of you well at this point, but I do know your family well enough to know that each of you only ever goes back on your word when doing so will save one of you from death.  I figure that means Klaus will abide by the terms of our agreement, so it's worth a shot to make him as whole as possible, no?"

Kol just stares at her with wide, round eyes.  The selflessness and compassion that my granddaughter is showing to a man who has tried to harm her and hers several times in the last year is remarkable to him.  He knows Niklaus knows better than to cause Kol to break his word over anything other than life or death so he's certain Bonnie and her friends will be safe from Niklaus' machinations, or the potentially lethal ones anyway.  However, Kol also knows that Bonnie is taking a huge leap of faith based solely on his word that his family will abide by his wishes.  His smile is entirely genuine when he tells her the same thing his brother just told me, "You are a remarkable woman, Bonnie Bennett."

My ever-humble baby girl laughs.  She doesn't think she's really all that remarkable.  After blushing slightly at his praise, she looks at him through her lashes and then asks, "Uh, Kol, if you don't wear any underwear, do you actually own a bathing suit because despite how comfortable I feel with you, I'm not willing to go skinny dipping with you no matter how cute you are."

He chuckles low in his throat, which sends a shiver down Bonnie's spine before he tells her with a smirk firmly on his face, "I own two bathing suits.  The woman at one of the stores I bought all of my clothes at insisted."

She doesn't get to respond other than nodding, though, because just then Niklaus comes into the room without knocking, and without so much as looking at her, he says, "You move fast, Brother.  You haven't even been allies for a full 24 hours, and already she's seen you naked?"

She scoffs at his words.  She knows that if she lets that slide and acts like she's afraid of The Big Bad Wolf, then he'll walk all over her for the rest of her life, so she decides to fight back by telling him, "Actually, point of fact, Kol is the only surviving Mikaelson brother I _haven't_ seen naked."

The living and the ghosts in the room all laugh when Niklaus' eyes widen, and he stares for a moment before he asks, "Come again?"

My baby girl smiles a coy smile and tells him, "You heard me, Kol's the only one of you three that I haven't seen in the buff, as it were."

Kol barks out a laugh, "Brother, you should see your face right now."

Bonnie laughs at Niklaus' face too.  The hybrid is blinking rapidly though his eyes are wide and as round as Frisbees and his jaw is slack and open so wide, he could easily collect flies.

She decides to take pity on him after he just stands there blinking at her for a full minute, so she tells him, "I saw you and Elijah change clothes in my premonition last night, so I know that you go commando _and_ that God blessed you and probably every woman you've ever slept with.  Well, if you know how to use what He gave you anyhow.  There is some debate as to your level of skill though, so the jury is still out on that."

Niklaus' thoughts are surprisingly positive, _'I'm beginning to see what my brother sees in her.  Few would tease me, and, of those who would, even fewer would think they would survive to tell the tale.  I think I'll let her live, though, because I find her rather amusing all things considered.'_

Kol laughs while Niklaus covers his appreciation for her by frowning before he tells her, "I've never had any complaints, and after a thousand years, even the most bumbling idiot would have exceptional skills, and I'm no idiot."

My unsurprisingly brave granddaughter smiles and nods before telling him, "No, you're not an idiot by any means.  Plus, if Kol is to be believed, and I see no reason not to trust him on this, then the fact of the matter is, with the amount of practice you've gotten through the many years of your existence you should be the best lay in the world by now."

Kol laughs harder and louder at that while Niklaus goes back to just blinking at her.  He wonders, _'She may be enjoying teasing me a bit too much.  Hmm, I'll need to figure out ways to get her back without harming her because she is currently much more fragile than my other sister.  Maybe I can ask Caroline for pointers on payback when torture isn't a viable option.'_

I laugh at that.  If anyone can help the emotionally vulnerable Niklaus with _that,_ it'll be Caroline Forbes.

Meanwhile Bonnie is wondering if she broke him, _'I didn't mean to, honest.'_   She continues her story in the hopes that he will snap out of his daze on his own, "Anyway, we were talking about the premonition, and Kol was telling me how good he is at sex, and I mentioned that you go commando, and he told me that most older male vampires do.  Your brother apparently doesn't have a single shy bone in his body, so he told me that he sees no point in men wearing underwear, so that's how I know he doesn't wear any underwear any more than you do."

Niklaus seems to snap out of his funk when the last word passes her lips before he tells her honestly, "I don't think any Mikaelson ever born has ever had a single shy bone in any of our bodies." 

She lazily nods while the hybrid pauses then he smirks and tries his hand at teasing back by telling her, "You know, you're not the stick in the mud I thought you were."

Bonnie's eyes widen before she thinks, _'He's actually had thoughts about me other than the 'I want her dead' kind?'_   Still, she laughs and asks him, "What exactly were you basing that opinion on because the only times we've really interacted we were both trying to kill the other?"

Kol chuckles and tells Niklaus, "She makes a valid point, Brother."

The hybrid smirks deeper and tells her, "Actually, I was basing the opinion on a conversation I had with the lovely Caroline about how she wished you and the Gilbert boy would quote, 'Just do it already,' because she had been trying to convince you of how great sex can be.  Apparently, you kept telling her that you were waiting until you knew it was 'real and forever.'"

My granddaughter's jaw is on the ground, and she's thinking, _'I don't care that she's a vampire and infinitely stronger than me.  I'm going to kill her with my bare hands.'_  

She voices her thoughts, "Sh-she told you that?  I'm going to kill her."

Niklaus chuckles but waves his long finger at her and says, "Ah, ah Ms. Bennett, I would be most put out if you kill my future lover before I get to know the joys of her body, so resist the urge to kill her, or you'll risk our precarious truce."

She pouts, and while he smirks at her, she tells him, "Dammit, that's not freaking fair, she can't just go telling The Big Bad Wolf that I'm a virgin and that I need to get it over with and just do it already.  Besides, telling you what I'm waiting for breaks our girl code, so I won't kill her dead, but I _will_ verbally kill her, and then I'll probably kill her with silence for a while because I know that'll drive her absolutely nuts."

He grins and chuckles before he tells her, "Just so long as she continues to exist, do your worst."

Bonnie laughs and screws up her courage working very hard not to stutter or hesitate when she tells Niklaus, whom she finds slightly intimidating, "Oh make no mistake, she won't know what hit her, and if you warn her I will come and curse you with a perpetual limp dick for a period of time to be determined later."

Kol laughs at the same time his brother's eyes widen, and she chuckles too while the hybrid shifts ever so slightly in a way that makes her think that if he weren't as controlled as we all know he is he would have cupped himself to protect the family jewels.

Inside Niklaus is cracking up, though, _'Oh, Kol, you have chosen well.  Bonnie will fit in just nicely in this family, even if I can't torture her for picking on me.'_

He doesn't voice any of that though and instead nods before saying, "I couldn't help but overhear your conversation, so I was wondering if I can come with you and try it right away?"

Bonnie looks at Kol for a minute and then shrugs before she tells him, "If Elijah and Rebekah want to come too, that'd be cool.  Then if it works for one, we'll be able to do everyone else all at the same time.  I think I have enough sea salt, parsley, and anise at my house for all five of us to try it.  Plus, it'd probably be better to do it on all of you, if it works, before my friends find out I even suggested you try it because let's face it, if it works, and I really do think it'll work on everyone except you, Klaus, my friends are going to have fits."

She pauses but then continues by confiding, "That's actually why I didn't mention it to Abby because while I trust her to tell me if a spell is dark, I don't actually trust her to keep my confidences regarding you and your family.  She went head to head with Mikael back in 1993 and is the reason you got to live without him breathing down your neck for the 17 years before you came to Mystic Falls.  Based on her advice about Kol I'm pretty sure she's biased against your entire family based solely on your asshole father… or… step-father, whatever."

Both brothers nod just before a knock sounds on the door of Kol's bedroom.  Kol stands and goes and answers the door and barely a moment later comes back with Elijah who smiles at my grandbaby.  What he tells her next makes her once again question just how good their hearing is.  "I also couldn't help but overhear your conversation, so I just called Rebekah and told her I'm coming to sign her out of school for the rest of the day.  I didn't tell her why other than it was family business because I wasn't sure who might be within hearing distance of her phone, but she agreed to come home.  Should we meet you at your house?  I assume we're running to save time?"

Kol nods, so frowning ever so slightly she asks him, "You used that word earlier.  What exactly do you mean by 'run'?"

He smiles and tells her, "I mean I'll pick you up and run at vampire speed from here to the shore.  It should only take us about half an hour to forty-five minutes, at most, to get there if memory serves."

Her eyes are wide before she tells them, "Um, wow, just call me 'Bella.'"

He frowns and asks the obvious question, "Not that you're not beautiful, but why would we call you 'Bella' in this context?"

I laugh at the same time my grandbaby groans because she walked right into that one.  Still, she ignores Kol's huge grin and tells him, "Bella Swan is the main protagonist in a Young Adult Book and Movie Series called The Twilight Saga.  Anyway, the boy she loves is a vampire, and he runs with her much the same way you just suggested you run with me."

Kol refrains from being cheeky but grins wider and asks, "So you'll do it?"

She grins back, "I don't see why not.  If I don't get sick from moving so fast, it's the best bet to get us there and back quickly.  As I said, time is of the essence because once my friends catch wind of this, they will do everything they can to stop us, our truce be damned."

He nods and then smiles and says, "Let's get to your house and get what we'll need, and the others can meet us there."

Bonnie inclines her head and after Kol disappears into his room for a minute he comes back, and when he puts his jacket back on she sees the waistband of what we both assume is a pair of swim trunks peeking out just above the waistband of his jeans. 

He smiles while he helps her back into her jacket and then after she waves at his brothers and says, "See you soon,' he escorts her out of the house and back into her car.  Kol is driving again, so my grandbaby gives him directions to her house, and after us ghosts think ourselves into the backseat of my granddaughter's tiny car, we leave the Mikaelson driveway.


	7. Nothing Good

**______________________________________________________________________________**

**Chapter 007**

**Nothing Good**

**______________________________________________________________________________**

**Friday, December 03, 2010, 1:45 p.m.**

**Bonnie's House**

**______________________________________________________________________________**

When we arrive at Bonnie's house, we get out of the car, but then she pulls up short.  Turning and looking at the original beside her, she frowns and tells him, "I'm sorry Kol, but I can't invite you in.  I have a strict no vampires rule in my house."

Her hazel eyes widen when Kol smiles and tells her, "This rule excludes the Salvatore's and Ms. Gilbert from entering as well, correct?"

She nods, but tells him, "Yeah, not even Caroline has been invited inside.  Only Abby has an invite into my house, and I didn't do that.  My dad did that last night."

Kol smiles wider and tells his chosen mate, "Good, although I'd feel better if _no_ vampires had an invitation into your home the current situation still makes me feel better about your safety because none of us except your mother can get in." 

He already knew that her mother had an invitation inside.  It's why he compelled Abby never to harm Bonnie because although Abby is her mother and unlikely to genuinely want to hurt her daughter she's still a young vampire, so there is nothing to say she wouldn't get angry and lose control.  This way we all know even if my daughter gets angry, Kol's compulsion on her will prevent her from touching a single hair on Bonnie's head. 

My only hope is that Kol can control his anger enough when he discovers what Rudy has been doing and give the abusive ass the same compulsion.

Kol didn't know that Bonnie hadn’t invited any other vampires inside, though, so his smile is genuine when he discovers that Abby and he are the only vampires with invitations into Bonnie's home even if my grandbaby doesn't know that he has an invitation. 

He compelled her father not to invite any other vampires besides the other Mikaelsons into the house in the future, but he figured that Bonnie had already invited her friends inside, so the compulsion was more to prevent future enemies from taking advantage of his keeping Bonnie's father Vervain free. 

Still, Kol knows that he needs to play it as if he doesn't know that her mother is safe for sure or that he has an open invitation, so he tells Bonnie, "Your mother likely won't be a threat to you, so that shouldn't be an issue.  Plus, once we get your magick back for you even if she does threaten you, you should be more than capable of stopping her in her tracks long enough to dose her with Vervain and restrain her." 

Her back straightens and a smile drifts across her face that he thinks she's strong enough with her natural magick that she could stop an enraged vampire in her tracks, so she nods with the ghost of a pleased smile on her face. 

He just grins wider and tells her, "I shall wait out here for you to return.  It might be easiest if you put the ingredients in a bag to make transporting them easier."

Bonnie nods again and tells him, "I'll be quick," then she hurries inside.  Kol spends the time she's inside the house Googling Virginia beaches on his phone and thinking about important things such as what her swimsuit will look like. 

He wonders, _'Will it be a one piece or a two piece?  What color might it be, and how amazing will it look against her smooth mocha skin?  And to that end, exactly how much of that beautiful Carmel skin will it show?'_  

Bonnie's usual style is tasteful yet sexy, so he has high hopes that her bathing suit will show just enough skin to entice but not so much that he won't have to imagine what she looks like without it.  That happens to be one of his favorite past times, and he'll be quite disappointed if her bathing suit ruins his fun when he kills time in the future.  As I said, though, he has high hopes.

He thinks, _'Blue would look amazing on her but so would pink or maybe peach.'_  He stops and imagines her in a peach bikini and then thinks, _'Damn, it would look fabulous on her.  The peach would cause her skin to glow in good health much the same way her blue top does today.'_  

He's also looking forward to seeing her stomach if he's lucky.  He thinks it'll be smooth and slightly round and so will her hips.  I hate to break it to the possibly oversexed vampire, but my granddaughter will not be wearing a two piece.  That would show her bruises, and she's always been very good, too good, at hiding those to make a rookie mistake like wearing something that won't properly conceal her marks. 

Ten minutes after Bonnie went inside, his siblings appear beside him and interrupt Kol's very pleasant musings about her bathing suit.  Elijah smiles and tells Kol, "We have towels for all of us, the grimoire, and our suits on, but we couldn't think of anything else we might need."

Kol nods and tells him, "I think that is everything we will need."

A moment later, Bonnie opens her front door and finds The Original Family all standing conspicuously in her yard. 

She looks them over, and her eyes stop on Rebekah's pink backpack on her back and Elijah's small black duffel bag lying at his feet.  She doesn't question them though and smiles at the picture they all make before she giggles and tells them, "It's a lucky thing my friends don't come down this street often, or they'd be asking me why I have all four surviving Mikaelsons posing as lawn ornaments in my front yard."

We all laugh at that before Niklaus tells her, "According to 'Bekah except for the Gilbert boy and Damon, all your friends including Stefan are at the school.  So, no worries, Luv."

I imagine Jeremy is planning to stay home from school for some time and that they'll need to come up with a cover story for why and how he lost his arms.  Until then, I'm sure so far as the school is concerned he's home sick, so Bonnie nods and tells them all, "Good, I hope you don't mind, but if this works, I'm planning not to tell my friends we did this until they bring it up.  So, unless you all go around town flashing your magick, I'm not really planning to tell them _at all_ because all it'll do is cause a fight and make them not trust me anymore, which if they don't trust me then they're more likely to break our new truce.  If that happens, then they'll all end up either dead or compelled so…"

Rebekah looks at Kol and then at Bonnie for a moment.  All three of Kol's siblings know of his plans for my currently clueless granddaughter, but Rebekah still asks her, "Why are you helping us?  As you just politely inferred the rest of your friends hate us, and everything I know about you says that you hate vampires too.  Despite that Elijah and Nik both said it was your idea for all of us to try this spell _and_ for us to come along today and try it right away."

I understand her skepticism and apparently so does Bonnie because she nods and tells Rebekah, "First, I can relate to you not having your powers.  I can't imagine how much it's sucked for all of you for the last thousand years, so that's why I'm helping you because I wouldn't wish that on my worst enemy.  Kol and I decided earlier that your family is no longer my enemy, so I'm, I hope, helping fix part of the wrong your mother did to all of you.  Secondly, I don't hate vampires simply because they're vampires.  I don't hate _anyone_ simply for the species they are because that would be wrong in so many ways it's not even remotely funny."

My ever-moral granddaughter frowns slightly before she tells them, "I don't usually _trust_ the members of your species farther than I can throw them, but Kol hasn't lied to me yet.  Plus, usually, I don't trust them because most vampires I've ever heard of are controlled by their baser instincts.  That's a fact, not a hate-filled stereotype.  Take Stefan for example, he turns into a ripper the moment he smells human blood.  How am I supposed to trust someone who can't control himself if I accidentally get a paper cut?"

There is a strain in her voice again when she says Stefan's name causing Kol to think, _'What_ is _the story behind her dislike of Stefan?  Is it just that he's a ripper and dangerous around human blood or is there more to the story?”_

He stares at her for a second or two and then thinks, ‘ _I’ll figure it out eventually, but in the meantime, I will keep an eye on Stefan any time he's around Bonnie just to be safe.’_

My pride and joy is still talking, so I focus back on her words before she says, "Damon's pretty well controlled, but if he gets angry or his feelings are hurt, he lashes out at whoever is closest.  Plus, he plays the bad guy more often than not and does what's necessary not what's popular, and I can relate, but his morals and impulse control are still questionable, so I don't really trust him.  Although, I do trust him more now that I had that premonition."

Kol frowns and shifts on his feet before he thinks, _'Perhaps I should pay another visit to all of Bonnie's supernatural friends and compel them not to threaten or harm her like I did with her mother just to be safe.  Yes, I think I'll do that tonight when we get back from the beach.'_  

I know I'll feel much better about my baby girl's interactions with her so-called friends if they're all compelled not to harm her.

Bonnie smiles slightly before she says, "The four of you, on the other hand, seem, both in my premonition and in real life, to have as close to perfect control as a vampire can probably get.  I get the impression from each of you that you each carefully choose or craft every move you make or word you say to get exactly the reaction, situation, or end result you want.”

She shrugs, “Although I'm sure you get angry, the impulse thing is less of an issue with you guys than it is with those that are so much younger and therefore less controlled than all of you."

She's not wrong.  Although Kol, more than his siblings, does still occasionally have impulse control issues, usually when he's angry or jealous.  If I believe Finn and Henri, and I see no reason not to trust them on this, then their brother has always been more impulsive and quicker to get angry or jealous than his siblings in most instances, even when they were human.

Pausing Bonnie nods once to herself and then says, "While I'm sort of on the topic of my premonition, I suppose it should have made me all anti-Kol and generally anti-Mikaelsons, but it actually had the opposite effect."

She frowns but says, "Klaus was genuinely devastated by Caroline's death, and I could clearly see that he truly has feelings for my best friend and would never intentionally harm her.  And all of you backed Kol’s play and openly displayed your love for and loyalty to him.  Although Kol and Elijah did terrible things, in most cases _unbelievably horrible_ things, in my premonition, no question about that, it was all out of a need for vengeance or in Elijah's case vengeance _and_ loyalty.  I once heard a quote, actually I think it was Elijah who said it to Elena shortly after he came to town, but it made sense to me: 'Sometimes there's honor in seeking revenge.'"

Elijah nods at her to show her that the quote did come from him and she nods back once before quickly continuing her point, "That statement was true in my premonition just as it would be true here and now if the need arose.  In my premonition, Elena and Jeremy, and the rest of us by proxy wronged Kol and killed him when all he was trying to do was save the world, so while I hated the things he did I could very well understand where he was coming from and why he was doing them." 

Kol's eyes are wide, and he's thinking, _'Um, wow, that's more than I could have hoped for at this point in our relationship.  The fact that she's so easily overlooking the terrible things I did to look deeper at why I did them, well that speaks volumes about the kind of woman she is and bodes well for our future together.'_

Bonnie pauses and then says, "Plus, after spending the day with him I think your brother is wholly misunderstood by my friends.  While that's partially his own fault for breaking Matt's hand at the Ball and setting himself up as the bad guy," Kol smiles when she frowns at him and raises her brow challenging him to argue with her.  He just shrugs slightly, so she continues, "I find myself not doubting anything he's said to me today.  So, while I'm not best friends with any of you at this point, I do trust Kol not to kill me _and_ not to let any of you do it either." 

That prompts Kol to think, _'Well thank God for small miracles.  I thought I was making genuine progress both in the car and at the coffee shop.  To hear it confirmed by her own words so early in our friendship is admittedly surprising, welcome, but surprising all the same.'_

Bonnie appears to be ready to leave it at that, but then she does that half frown half smile thing again and makes her intentions very clear while she looks at each of the Mikaelsons and says, "You should know I decided earlier to make my own judgments where all of you are concerned.  Klaus and Elijah are the ones I've interacted with the most before today, so they're the only ones I have any business having an established opinion on at this point, and nothing I've seen from Elijah makes me think I should hate him."

My ever-moral grandbaby looks at Niklaus hard for a minute then shrugs and says, "I must be brain dead or have a death wish or something, but Klaus, well, you're getting a second chance to prove to me that you're worth knowing and not killing.  Make sure you thank your brother for that because he's the only reason I even thought of giving you a second chance."

She shrugs again and then tells the flabbergasted hybrid, "In fact, now that I think about it you might want to consider not daggering him the next time the urge strikes you as a way of thanking him for convincing me that you, and really your entire family, aren't my enemy.  He made me realize that everything all of you, but especially you, Klaus, have done to me and my friends was a direct result of your asshole parents and their poor decisions and actions."

My very brave grandbaby smiles slightly and tells him, "Because of that realization I've decided to overlook the fact that you killed Aunt Jenna, Uncle John, and Elena as well as the fact that you attempted to kill me, twice.  I'm attaching an asterisk next to every violent thing you've done since you came here and in the footnote of that list it says, 'There were extenuating circumstances.'  The main one being the fact that your hag of a mother set you up to have to kill people I cared about to make yourself whole again and then required you to use my best friend's blood to make more hybrids.  Those are both her fault, not yours and I get the sense that you've been paying for her mistakes your whole life, so I'm making the executive decision to stop that trend here and now.  So, from this moment forward you have a fresh slate so far as I'm concerned.  Now, I have two pieces of unsolicited advice that I'm going to force you to listen to.  One, be the man your siblings know you can be, ya know the one they love enough to stand by through thick and thin despite your previous bad behavior towards them."

Bonnie stops and takes a breath so with a grin firmly in place Niklaus asks, "And what might the second piece of advice be Little Witch?"

My granddaughter smiles and tells him, "The second one should be fairly easy for you if you actually put some effort into it.  Be the highly intelligent man I know you truly are.  You know, the one who managed to outsmart his evil asshat of a step-father and keep his siblings safe at every turn for the last one thousand years.  Don't make me regret the decision to give you this chance because I won't hesitate to kill you if at any point from here on out you in anyway harm _anyone_ I consider mine.  And just to make sure there is no confusion, Elena, Jeremy, Damon, Caroline, Matt, Tyler, and, against my better judgment, Stefan, and anyone any of them might be related to or friends with are officially on my list of people who belong to me.  Memorize the roster and steer clear of them and you and I will have no further issues.  Do we have an understanding, Klaus?"

His lips purse, and his eyes narrow but inside he's impressed by my baby girl.  He nods and says, "We have an understanding, but I reserve the right to strike back the moment any of those individuals on your list make a move again me or mine.  To be fair just so there is no confusion from either of us, everyone in this yard right now plus young Caroline is mine for the purposes of our truce."

Bonnie, not realizing he just claimed her and her best friend as his to defend and avenge, smiles brightly and tells them all, "Well, look at that, Klaus and I just came to an amicable understanding without either of us resorting to violence to get our way.  Will wonders never cease?"

They all chuckle at that and Kol's eyes are even wider now before he thinks, _'Wow, her whole little speech also speaks volumes about the kind of woman Bonnie is that she's willing to give Nik a clean slate to start fresh and prove himself to her.  He better not mess it up, or I will find a way to end him myself.'_  

Niklaus catches Kol's eye briefly and nods ever so slightly, so he knows his brother is aware that he better not screw this up for him or there will be hell to pay.

My equal opportunity granddaughter turns and looks at Rebekah for a minute and then tells her, "Rebekah, I know Elena literally stabbed you in the back, which for the record I didn't agree with that decision _or_ how she went about it when I found out about what she had done after the fact.  Anyhow, I'm hoping you and I can start fresh, too, and leave Elena's actions on Elena's shoulders, and we can form our own opinions about each other separate from my best friend and our respective relationships with her.  I'm going to forget everything the others have told me about each of you and form my own opinions based on how you each treat _me_ and the behaviors I _personally_ witness from each of you."

Rebekah nods and says, "Very well, I'm willing to ignore that Elena is your friend and judge you based on your own actions, but wrong us, and I _will_ kill you."

Kol growls at his sister, but Bonnie puts up her hand and tells him, "That's fair, Kol.  My friends and, therefore, me, by association, don't have a great track record when it comes to keeping our word or behaving fairly when interacting with any of you.  You made me realize earlier today that on all but two occasions, maybe three, my group was the one that attacked you guys first, usually after promising not to.  Therefore, I think your sister is doing us all a favor by putting it out there that if I behave like my friends have in the past and try to harm her or her family unprovoked, it will get me killed.  And I'll just put it out there that if _any_ of you, not just Klaus, harm me or mine unprovoked then I'll kill the perpetrator just as Rebekah would." 

Kol smiles and thinks, _'I made an excellent choice when I decided to make her mine.  She will fit in perfectly in our family, and she won't let any of us walk all over her either, which will keep_ all _of us happy in the end.'_  

My pride and joy smiles, and then says, "Now if we've settled that and finished warning each other that acting like backstabbing bitches will get us killed, I think we should be going.  My friends will probably be coming here as soon as they get out of school because I didn't call and warn any of them that I wasn't going to be there today."

Kol's eyes widen at the fact that none of them have tried calling her to make sure she's okay, but then she says, "I accidentally put my phone on silent this morning, so I've missed almost 90 calls and over 200 texts from them that I chose not to respond to yet."  He nods slowly.  That's more in line with what he knows of her friends.

Frowning slightly, she then continues her thought, "Also, if they've talked to Damon at all, which knowing Elena she likely has, in fact, spoken to him multiple times today, then they know that I left his house with Kol.  Therefore, I think it's best we all not be here when they arrive," she takes her phone out of her pocket and looks at it for a moment then she finishes her thought, "and school lets out in about 10 minutes so…"

They all nod before Kol asks, "Do you have enough of the ingredients, or do we need to stop at a magick shop on the way?"

She smiles gently and tells him, "No, I think I have enough that we could do this four or five times each and still have some left over."

He nods and then asks, "Okay, so Little Bella, do you want to ride on my back or do you want me to carry you?  If you're really worried about being sick, me carrying you might be the best course."

She frowns and then asks, "I won't be too heavy?" 

I chuckle because that's a silly question to ask a vampire with supernatural strength, but I remind myself that she _is_ a teenage girl and even all these years later they still worry about inconsequential things sometimes.

Kol laughs, too, and tells her, "I'd be stunned if you weigh more than eight stone, so I highly doubt you'd be too heavy even if I _were_ human.  Given that I'm a vampire, I could lift an automobile and carry it as far as we're going and not even be slightly tired when I get there so you will be but a feather comparatively speaking."

Bonnie frowns and turns before looking back and forth between Elijah and Niklaus, the ones she figures will have a clue how many pounds that translates to and asks, "Uh, not to sound stupid but exactly how many pounds is eight stone?"

Elijah smiles and says, "About 112 pounds."

My granddaughter smiles a broad smile, and I bet Kol just gave her a huge ego boost by incorrectly guessing her weight.  Honestly, she's tiny, and he finds her pleasantly curvy body very pleasing to the eye, so he smiles back before she says, "You're off by about ten pounds, but I get your point, so I guess you can carry me."

Kol smiles and tells her, "Put your bag on over your chest."

Doing as she's told she smiles before he then walks up to her and takes her left hand in his bringing it up over his shoulder and around his neck, and then he places one arm around her shoulders and his other arm behind her knees and sweeps her up into his arms. 

Kol thinks, _'I was right.  She's light as a feather.'_   Still, she's sort of stiff being that close to him, so she jumps a little when his breath tickles her ear while he says, "Relax, Little Bella, I won't drop you."

He's no fool.  He knows damn well his dropping her is the last thing she's worried about.  She's worried about her closeness to him and _his_ scent making _her_ smell like she did this morning when she arrived at the boarding house because he's aware that he smells good, really good even.

My grandbaby hesitantly rests her cheek against his firm chest and settles in before taking a deep breath, and Kol chokes back a laugh when she does _her_ best to stifle a moan.  He was right.  She thinks he smells good.  He briefly wonders, _'What do I smell like to her?'_

Shaking his head to rid it of those thoughts, he focuses on what they're doing and not the beauty snuggled up in his arms before turning to Elijah and telling him, "We need to go to the actual ocean, not the bay.  I’m thinking Virginia Beach because when I Googled it, that looked like the closest beach on the Atlantic." 

Elijah nods but says, "Due to the time of year and the temperature of the water in Virginia Beach it might be better to go somewhere more southern.  I have a private beach we could go to.  It should only take an hour or so to get there on foot."

Kol hadn't thought about the intelligence or safety of Bonnie going into the water in the first week of December, so he nods grateful that his brother is once again thinking ahead.  He smiles and asks Elijah, "The water will be warm enough to prevent Bonnie from being harmed?"

He nods and says, "Yes, it's in Florida on the Gulf Coast, and humans swim in the water year-round without any harm coming to them."

Bonnie's hazel eyes are wide before she asks, "We're going to Florida, and we'll get there and back in a single afternoon?"

Elijah nods at her, so she grins and says, "That is so cool."

We all chuckle at that.  A moment later Kol tells Elijah, "We should follow you, Brother, because you're the one who knows where we are going."

He nods again and then they're moving.  Us ghosts just keep them in our thoughts and manage to get dragged along at vampire speed.  Everything is a blur to Bonnie while we pass it.  Kol shivers when she leans up close to his ear, and her breath tickles him while she asks, "Will no one else be able to see us?"

He smiles and puts his lips to her ear and tells her, "No, if we move fast enough, it'll be faster than the human eye can see, and no one will even know we've been here."

She just nods and snuggles back into his arms.  He smiles because about five minutes into our hour-long run my baby girl's breathing evens out and her heart rate slows telling us all that she's fallen asleep, which means she's comfortable enough around him and feels safe enough to fall asleep in his arms, which is nice to know.

Her phone rings ten or twelve times while we're running, and it chimes telling her of missed text messages probably five dozen times, but luckily, she sleeps right through it all.

**______________________________________________________________________________**

**Friday, December 03, 2010, 3:35 p.m.**

**Elijah's Private Beach in Destin, Florida**

**______________________________________________________________________________**

When we all arrive at the beach, it's mostly deserted because it's the private beach for those houses built on the shore, one of which Elijah owns.  There are a few surfers farther down the beach, so we walk at a human pace to a section of sand that's far enough away from the collection of surfers that my granddaughter and the Mikaelsons should be able to speak freely without worrying about anyone hearing anything they shouldn't.  Rebekah takes the towel Elijah hands her and lays it on the sand for Kol before he lays Bonnie on it and strokes her cheek while he says, "Time to wake up, Little Bella."

Her eyes flutter for a moment, and she giggles before she opens her eyes.  Kol smiles widely when she says, "I need to come up with a nickname for you if you're going to keep calling me 'Little Bella.'"

While he kneels beside her, he smiles down at her and brushes her hair out of her face and behind her ear before he tells her, "I'm sure you'll think of something suitably appropriate."

The smile on Kol's face when he called my grandbaby 'Little Bella' tells Rebekah that her brother thinks he's funny and cute.  She doesn't understand why, though, so she asks, "Not that she's not beautiful, because she is, and I almost envy her for her smooth mocha complexion, but why is Kol calling her 'Little Beauty'?  I sense a story, spill, Brother."

Kol laughs while Bonnie giggles and sits up before looking at Rebekah and telling her about their conversation at the house.

When Bonnie finishes her tale, Rebekah smiles and says, "Oh, okay.  Another girl on the Cheerleading Team recommended those books.  Should I bother reading them?"

My grandbaby pauses.  No doubt wondering if a real vampire would get any enjoyment out of reading about fake vampires?  I'm not too sure, but then I smile when my baby girl tells Rebekah, "Provided you can overlook the fact that the vampires in those books sparkle in the sunlight instead of bursting into flames I don't think you'd absolutely hate them.  They _are_ kind of tame, though, especially given the actual realities of The Supe World.  Plus, the main family of vampires are what they call 'vegetarians' because they only eat animals like Stefan does so you might have some objections to their chosen diet as well, but overall, it's an entertaining story.  I have all four novels as well as the novella that came out in June if you want to borrow them."

All of the vampires present think at the same time, _'They do what?  They sparkle?  Seriously?  And they eat animals?'_  

Kol follows those thoughts up with, _'Real vampires eat humans, not animals.  Stefan Salvatore's small manhood is not the only reason he's a disgrace to all men or all vampires everywhere.  His diet is just as disgraceful, though, his lack of control while on human blood is even more disgraceful, so just, in general, he's a disgrace.'_

Kol looks at his sister with wide questioning eyes, so she smiles widely and bounces on her toes because even if the books are stupid, she thinks she might be able to talk to Bonnie about them and get a real friend.  Therefore, keeping her smile firmly in place, she says, "I think I'll take you up on that offer."

My granddaughter just nods and gives the blonde a bright smile before she says, "Okay, then when we go back to my house to drop me off remind me, and I'll run in and grab them, and then you can just give them back whenever you finish with them."

Rebekah nods and tells her, "Thank you, Bonnie." 

Her smile widens before she nods once more and says, "No problem," and then she takes off her backpack and opens it up before taking out the makings for her lunch. 

Kol sits up straight.  He apparently didn't think about her becoming hungry.  Fortunately, it appears she did.  Looking at all of the Mikaelsons she says, "I hope you all don't mind, but I haven't eaten anything since about 7 a.m., so I brought paper plates, Egg Salad, Tomatoes, some whole grain bread, and chips.  There should be enough if any of you want some.  I even brought enough of the little single serving bags of Frito's if you guys want them too.  I would have sat on my stoop and eaten my lunch there if I wasn't worried about my friends showing up."

The originals each nod and they all find it telling that she would not only pack enough to feed four vampires but that she also thought of it.  Most people wouldn't have bothered, and the Mikaelsons think the fact that she did speaks to her character and compassion for others. 

Elijah and Rebekah hand everyone towels from their bags, and they spread them out on the sand while Bonnie makes them each a sandwich and then gives them, bottles of lemonade, and the bags of chips to each of them.  They all sit quietly and eat. 

While they eat Rebekah asks Bonnie general questions about herself.  How long has she lived in Mystic Falls?  Does she like it there?  What's her favorite music, books, movies, television shows, etc.?  Bonnie surprises them by asking not just Rebekah for her opinions but also her brothers for their views on everything Rebekah asks her.  It feels like future friends getting to know each other, so Rebekah's hope of getting a real friend grows brighter and brighter.  They don't get too deep, but it's a nice start towards all of them knowing my grandbaby better and _her_ knowing _them_ better.

Kol is mostly listening quietly while his siblings and Bonnie get to know each other better though he does respond when prompted.  He's not really talking, though, because he has a swarm of butterflies flapping around inside his stomach.  _‘If this doesn't work, then we'll never get our powers back, and although we already thought we lost them forever, I miss my magick, probably even more than my siblings do.’_

Even still all their muscles are stiff, and they're swallowing rapidly while each of them silently says a little prayer, _'Please, God, let this work.'_

Kol is fidgeting while he sits because he's even more nervous and cautiously hopeful than his siblings which is saying something because they're all nervous wrecks at this point.

Even Bonnie is shifting around nervously and offering up a prayer, _'Please let this work and let it help mellow them all out and be less likely to kill people.'_

I smile and tell Freya, Finn, and Henri, "That's my baby girl, always thinking of others."

My ghostly companions nod and when the living members of our group finish eating Bonnie puts their trash back into her bag and then she takes out the mixing bowl she brought and a cup before she holds out the cup to Kol and asks him, "Can you go fill this with salt water, please?"

He smiles and nods before taking the cup from her hand and going and coming back faster than she can see.  She giggles and tells him, "Sparkle Pants, that moving faster than I can see thing is going to take some getting used to."

Rebekah giggles while Kol chuckles and asks Bonnie, "Surely you don’t intend to call me 'Sparkle Pants'?  I mean, _really_?" 

She laughs while she reads from the grimoire that Elijah places next to her on her towel and then pours some Sea Salt that she apparently already ground into a fine powder into the bowl.  She then pours some of the parsley and anise into the bowl before taking the cup of water and pouring in a little at a time and stirring it with her Athamé until she gets the right consistency. 

When she looks up at him with a broad smile on her face, he smirks back because, honestly, I'm sure he'll let her call him whatever she wants if she just keeps grinning at him like she is right now. 

She laughs again and still looking at him with that wide smile on her face she tells him, "Well, if I'm Bella and I'm hanging out with a family of vampires, then that means you all sparkle in the sunlight, so, yeah, I'm pretty much going to call you 'Sparkle Pants'." 

Finn laughs beside me and says, "She's got guts I'll give her that.  Nobody else would dare call one of us 'Sparkle Pants' even if we did start the name calling."

I laugh and nod, but my granddaughter pauses, and then with a slight frown on her pretty face she tells Kol, "Don't worry, if we're ever in a dangerous situation, I'll know better than to call you that.  However, if everything is safe and you maintaining Dominance and other people's belief that you are superior to all other supernaturals isn't mandatory for keeping us alive, then at that moment you are hereby renamed 'Sparkle Pants.'"

Kol grins and nods, so she knows he'll put up with it at least for a little while anyway. 

When she's done mixing everything she hands the bowl to Rebekah and then stands and removes her shoes, lightweight jacket, top and pants to reveal her pink, black, aqua green, and peach blocky one-piece suit.  The suit covers her shoulders, and when she moves slightly, I see that it also conceals most of her back except for a little square of flesh. 

Peach, and really all the colors of her suit are good colors for her and look amazing on her.  The suit reminds Rebekah of a pastel girlie version of the Mondrian painting Niklaus has hanging in his study.  Personally, she thinks it's just squares, rectangles, and lines and not all that difficult to paint, but she has a new appreciation for the simple painting because every time she sees it from now on she'll remember this day:  The day she maybe got her first real friend. 

Kol is thinking the same thing his sister is except it'll remind him of the first time _he_ saw _his_ 'Little Bella' in a bathing suit.

The colors cause my baby girl's skin to take on a healthy glow.  I'm not surprised when Kol smiles and while his eyes linger on her smooth slightly rounded stomach and round hips, he tells her with a slight leer in his voice, "Modern Women's Swim Wear should also be on that list from earlier, Little Bella, because it has also _vastly_ improved through the years."

She blushes as red as the tomatoes she cut up a little while ago and barely manages to avoid fidgeting and doesn't seem able to make eye contact.  After nodding, she runs to the shore and into the water.  He laughs and smiles at her hasty departure before he frowns a moment later when he spies a healing bruise through the small opening on the back of her suit. 

He thinks, _'Did I do that last night?  I didn't think she hit the lockers hard enough to leave a bruise, but who else might have had an opportunity to bruise her?  It must have been me.  I'll have to be more mindful of how fragile her human body truly is.'_

He shakes his head before their vampire hearing picks up my granddaughter saying, "Oh my God, the first dip is always cold even in Florida apparently." 

I chuckle because even as a small child Bonnie would complain about the shock of the water being cold even when really it was warm.  It’s most definitely warmer than Virginia Beach would have been, but that first dip is always a shock to the system.

I grin more deeply while Bonnie wades out until the water is to her chest because now it’s registering as warm, and then she takes a deep breath and goes under the surf.  I count to nine in my head, and when I reach nine, she shoots up out of the water and gasps for breath.  Swimming back to shore, she runs back to them before extending her hand into the bowl Rebekah is still holding and taking out a small glob of paste and putting it on her crown in the shape of a pentagram.  Then she goes down her body placing a glob at each of her Chakras over her suit until she gets to the base one, and then she turns bright red again and asks, "Uh, can you guys not watch this next part?"

Rebekah frowns and asks, "Why?"

My granddaughter blushes harder and clearly doesn't know how to explain without further embarrassing herself, so Kol steps in and says, "I think it's because Little Bella needs to stick her hand onto the crotch of her suit to put the paste on the final Chakra."

Bonnie is furiously blushing, but she nods and lets out a gust of air that she didn't have to say it until the cheeky vampire asks, "Want some help?"

Her eyes shoot to his, and she blushes even harder before she tells him, " _Absolutely not._   I am perfectly capable of doing it myself, thank you very much.  I just don't want three hot guys staring at me while I do it."

Her wide eyes, even more furious blush, and her grimace when she finishes speaking clearly says, _'Oh God, did I just say that out loud?'_   The Mikaelsons all chuckle both at her words and her wide eyes while she shuffles her feet and continues grimacing before Elijah smiles gently and says, "Turn around, Brothers."

The three of them turn and then wait until my baby girl lets out a small breath and tells them, "Okay, now I have to wait 27 minutes, so what time is it?"

Elijah looks at his watch and tells her, "It's 4:01 p.m.  I will let you know when it is 4:28." 

She nods and says, "Thank you," before she tells them, "You guys should all probably go into the water and then put the paste on, so we don't end up here too much after dark, or my friends will really freak."

Just then Bonnie's phone rings, so she wraps another towel that Rebekah hands her around her shoulders and sits taking her phone out of her jeans pocket and looking at the caller ID before saying, "Speak of the Devil," and then she pushes the send button and tells the caller, "I'm not talking to you, Caroline Forbes."

Niklaus and Kol both chuckle when we all hear Caroline ask, "What?  Why not?"

Frowning my grandbaby asks her friend, "Did you or did you not tell Klaus Mikaelson that you thought Jer and I should just get it over with and do it because sex is so great.  Then did you or did you not tell that very same big bad wolf that I'm waiting for it to be real and forever, and that's why I'm still a virgin?"

Rebekah thinks, _'She did what?  I clearly missed that part of the story.'_  

We can all hear Caroline's frown when she says, "Um, how do you know about that?"

Rebekah and Kol's frowns deepen before my granddaughter says, "So it's true then, you told The Big Bad Original Hybrid personal details about me, really personal details, that I'm sure you knew I would object to him knowing."

Rebekah has heard enough, so she quickly takes off her clothes revealing a hot pink bikini.  She giggles at her brother who is obviously disappointed that Caroline interrupted, and Bonnie didn't get to watch him strip, but he consoles himself with the knowledge that that's okay for now because when he gets his way, my grandbaby will see him strip often.  He runs to the water just before his sister does and they swim to the deeper section before dunking themselves for nine seconds. 

Even under the water, they can hear Caroline say, "Um maybe, it just came out.  I swore him to secrecy."

When the siblings turn and walk out of the water, I see my baby girl catch the hybrid's eye before she tells the gossip-loving Caroline, "Because he's been so trustworthy and willing to respect boundaries right?  Who else have you told my personal details to?"

Through the Mikaelsons' minds, I can hear the usually bubbly Caroline gulp, and I think Bonnie can, too, because she visibly braces herself before her friend says, "Um, maybe Tyler."

Bonnie's eyes pop open wide, and her back goes ram-rod straight before she indignantly asks, "Tyler?  You told _Tyler Lockwood_ about my non-sex-life?  Caroline Elizabeth Forbes, what the hell?"

Caroline is obviously pouting when she tells her older friend, "He hasn't told anyone."

My granddaughter's voice is hot and sharp when she tells her friend, "That you know of."  My pride and joy pauses and takes several deep breaths slowly releasing each one before taking another one, then she says with less heat and bite in her voice, "Tell me why you're calling.  Then I'm hanging up because I don't want to say something I might regret later."

The Mikaelsons all think that that speaks to her character, too.  Bonnie cares enough about her friend despite her upset that she doesn't want to say something in anger and hurt her best friend even though Caroline hurt Bonnie first.  If Kol's plan works, and no one I've spoken to has ever known one of his plans to fail unless Niklaus interfered, then Fate is about to bless them all with a very devoted and caring baby sister.

I can hear Caroline's frown when she says, "We were worried about you.  You didn't come to school after meeting with Kol and Damon this morning, and you haven't answered any of our calls or text messages.  Damon said you left his house in your car with Kol at about quarter to nine, but your car is at your house.  Your scent and the smell of vampires, one of which I assume is Kol's scent, and the others of which I think are Klaus, Elijah, and Rebekah are still lingering in the air as if you were all here within the last two hours.  You’re not actually here, though, so I figured I'd try calling one more time and check on you."

My eyes widen that at a little under two years as a vampire Caroline can smell their scents that well after an hour never mind two and can accurately guess as to the time frame of when they were last there.  Exactly how much vampire blood did she have in her system when she died? 

I'm sure even Damon at 146 years as a vampire wouldn't have been able to differentiate between scents well enough to name the individuals.  Instead, he would have just said vampires and not been able to smell individual scents, not after an hour anyway, and especially not after two hours _and_ outside where the scents dissipate quicker. 

Stefan certainly wouldn't have even been able to tell any of them had been there.  However, Caroline could pick out each of their scents, outside, after two hours have passed, so she is going to be a force to be reckoned with once she's a few years older.  In fact, she may already be a force to be reckoned with.

Bonnie sighs and then tells her obviously worried friend, "I'm fine."

The worry and care Caroline has for her is blatantly apparent when she asks, "Where are you, Bonnie?  And why haven't you answered your phone?"

My grandbaby reaches up and rubs the back of her neck again before she tells Caroline, "I accidentally put my phone on silent, so I didn't know I was missing calls and texts.  I'm sorry about that, and I think I'm in Florida at a beach."

The slightly OCD Caroline gasps and then asks in rapid-fire succession, "Wait, what?  Why are you there?  How did you get there so fast?  There's no way your scent here is older than two hours!"

She's definitely a force to be reckoned with.

Bonnie sighs again and straightens her shoulders obviously preparing for Caroline to yell at her, "I'm here doing a spell to return my natural balance to me, and I got here so fast because Kol ran us here."

She pulls the phone away from her ear just in time to prevent hearing loss when Caroline shrieks, "You're there with Kol, Kol Mikaelson?"

Bonnie frowns after she puts the phone back to her ear and asks, "Do we know anyone else named Kol?"

Rebekah giggles and Kol and his brothers all chuckle while they walk up out of the water, and they smile when my granddaughter nearly swallows her tongue.  She's having thoughts about Kol's body that I'd rather not think too closely about or the fact that someday very soon she's going to see _all_ of him.  She mouths, 'Holy Hell, he's gorgeous,' when she becomes distracted from her phone conversation. 

Kol's chest puffs up a little while her eyes follow one of the many beads of water rolling down his chest and over his well-defined abdominal muscles into his shorts.  Bonnie is brought back to the phone by Caroline yelling, "Bonnie… Bonnie… BONNIE!"

When my blushing grandbaby tears her eyes away from Kol's chest, he chuckles again with sparkling eyes and a pleased smile firmly on his face which only grows wider when with an obvious pout in her voice that matches the one on her face Bonnie asks, "What?"

Caroline's worry seems to only be growing because she tells her best friend, "I asked what you're thinking going anywhere with him?  Damon said that you don't have your magick anymore, so Kol could seriously hurt you, and with you all the way there and us still here there's nothing we could do to stop him."

The Mikaelsons all frown while they take the paste out of the bowl and begin placing it on each of their Chakras in the shape of pentagrams.  Honestly, Kol is the least likely of all the vampires and supernaturals in Bonnie's life to harm her, but my frown turns into a small smile when my granddaughter tells Caroline, "He's not going to hurt me because that would break our truce and put a target back on his chest."  While that is 100% true, it's not why he won't be hurting her, but it'll do for now I suppose. 

I do smile wider, though, when Bonnie says to Caroline, "Now, I'm really not in the mood to talk with you right now, so I'm hanging up.  Don't call back.  I won't answer," and then she hangs up on her friend without waiting for a response.

Turning off her ringer again and tossing her phone into her bag, my baby girl sighs and fights back tears while her lip trembles and her eyes get suspiciously moist. 

She had to know Caroline told Niklaus, or how else would he have known, but I'm sure the betrayal hurts.  She looks up to find all four of the originals looking at her.  They're all dripping wet, and there is almost no paste left in the bowl, so I'm sure she knows that they already put it on themselves.

Kol sits down on his towel beside my granddaughter on her left while Rebekah sits down beside her on her own towel on Bonnie's right before she asks my grandbaby, "How long have you two been friends?"

Kol smiles at his sister, and she nods slightly to show him that she really is trying.  She thinks, _'Maybe tonight when we get home I'll thank him for deciding to make Bonnie his and possibly giving me a real friend.  I might even maybe apologize for threatening to dagger him even if he did almost stake me with the White Oak Stake.  I mean, okay, I threatened him first, but it still hurt my feelings that he was threatening to stake me.  None of us would come back from that.  At least if he were daggered, he'd eventually wake up.'_

Rebekah is brought back to the here and now when Bonnie frowns at the question but tells her, "Our moms, Mrs. Gilbert, and Ms. Donovan were best friends growing up, so Caroline, Elena, Matt and I have been best friends since we were in diapers.  Abby left when I was about one-year-old, but my dad for whatever reason kept up the play dates, and the rest, as they say, is history."

Bonnie sighs and she stares off into the water before she then says, "Care's been a hopeless gossip ever since she learned how to string words together, so I suppose I should be used to her having a big fat mouth.  Though I keep hoping she won't tell my secrets anymore, but I'm not telling her anything important ever again." 

She pauses then sighs again before telling the two vampires, "I'm especially not telling her anything about any of you because that's probably the fastest way to make sure _everyone_ knows."

She turns her face to look at Kol and says, "Oh that reminds me, Kol, I haven't told any of them that you all were witches before being turned, so unless one of you told one of them they don't currently know.  I wasn't sure if you told me in confidence, so I decided not to share anything you said last night after I left Jer and Elena in the house, and don't worry I won't be telling them anything you said today either.  Well except for what you said about women's fashion because I'm pretty sure Caroline will love that, but I'll only tell her if you say it's okay first.  Just bear in mind that if I tell her, all of my friends will likely know your opinions on modern fashion pretty quickly."

He gives her a broad smile and nods.  That my granddaughter would err on the side of caution and keep his confidences until she knew for sure his words weren't meant only for her ears speaks to the amazing and trustworthy woman she truly is.  Still, Kol tells her honestly, "I wouldn't mind if you told all of your friends everything I've said last night _or_ today." 

He pauses but then adds, "Well, except maybe the part about Eija, I'll ultimately trust your judgment on that, but other than that none of what I said was intended to be a secret.  I honestly sort of figured you would tell them when I told you, but thank you for at least waiting until you could find out if it were intended to be a secret."

All three of his siblings think, _'He told her about Eija?'_   Well, if they ever doubted how determined he is about making her his, they don't anymore.  He rarely speaks of Eija.  The pain is still too profound, so the fact that their brother told Bonnie about his long-dead love speaks volumes about how much he already trusts her. 

Rebekah offers up a little prayer, _'Please, Jesus, don't let his or our trust in Bonnie be misplaced.'_

My grandbaby smiles back and tells Kol, "No problem, that's what friends are for."

His eyes and his smile widen before he asks, "So are we friends then?"

She pauses and seems to really consider his question.  She's obviously, and thankfully, still being cautious, but I'm hoping deep down her subconscious knows she can trust him and, really, all of them, maybe even Niklaus. 

Apparently, she does because she nods a moment later and says, "Yeah pretty much.  My gut tells me I can trust you.  You were right at the boarding house earlier about my instincts.  My gut told me Shane was shifty the first time I met him and every time after that.  I just chose not to listen to what my intuition was telling me.  Anyway, I don't think there's anything wrong with my instincts provided I actually listen to them when they try to tell me something."

My baby girl pauses then shrugs before she says, "So yeah, we're friends, or at least we're well on our way to being friends because honestly, we've only known each other for a few hours when you think about it."

Kol gives her a soft smile again and nods while I watch his muscles that he hadn’t even realized were stiff with tension relax at her words.  He can live with being well on their way towards being friends because she's right that they really have only been speaking for a few short hours.  But it looks as though his plans are also well on their way to coming to fruition.

A moment later Elijah clears his throat and says, "Sorry to interrupt, but it's 4:27 p.m. so you should get ready to go back into the water, Ms. Bennett."

All his siblings laugh at their always proper brother and my grandbaby looks up at him giggling.  She gives him another broad smile, and then she says, "I think you can start calling me Bonnie, Elijah.  I mean, if I'm going to make friends with one original, I might as well go all in and make friends with all of you.  Although, Klaus, I promise this is the last time I'll bring it up but be forewarned I will find a way to hurt you if you hurt me or anyone I care about ever again."

Niklaus puts his hands up with a pout on his face before he asks, "Luv, why am I the only one getting a warning, and repeatedly at that?"

She stands and brushes sand off her butt before she smiles wider and tells the man who killed her best friend, however temporary that death might have been, "Because I realized today that you're the only member of your family that's attacked any of us without us first provoking you.  While I'm willing to give you a second chance, I feel it's only fair to warn you that if you continue to be a threat, I will find a way to end you, original hybrid or not."

He doesn't show it, but inside he's quite pleased by her showing today.  _'She's managed to repeatedly warn me that bad behavior will end horribly for me, but she's done so each time without being disrespectful or outright rude.  That ability is rare in someone so young.  I dare say my baby brother has chosen a worthy mate.'_  

He smiles and nods, before he tells her, "Fair enough, Luv."

She just nods back and then looks at Elijah who is wearing a blue and red pair of swim trunks and still managing to exude power and command respect from all those he encounters.  She smiles at him and asks, "Is it time?"

He glances at his watch and then nods, so my grandbaby turns and runs into the water while she chants "Jesus, please return the balance to me," in Old Norse.  The original chant was a plea to Freyja, one of the Norse Goddesses, but Bonnie changed it to Jesus because I raised her in the Christian Faith, so she knows that any powers or abilities we have are direct gifts from The One True God.

She dunks herself again, and she's thinking the Chant nine times while she holds her breath under the water before popping back through the surface gasping for air.

A second later my previously disempowered grandbaby turns to face us, and a wide smile breaks out on her face while I watch the holes in her aura slowly fill in until the blemishes that had littered it this morning are completely gone, and it is glowing in good health. 

She smiles brightly and runs out of the water and straight into the towel Kol is holding up for her.  He rubs it over her for a minute before she grabs hold of his hands and tells him what we already know, "It worked Kol, only I think the power is stronger than it was before, even stronger than when I had the power of The Hundred Dead Witches added to mine."

Everyone present, vampires and ghosts alike, all nod because we can feel her immense power rolling off her in waves.  Elijah walks into her line of sight and says, "Ms.—” My granddaughter raises her eyebrow at him at the same time his siblings do, so Elijah smiles before he corrects himself and continues, "Bonnie, I believe I may know why your magick is so much stronger.  In most family lines every time the oldest of each line of witches dies all the power of every previous witch from that line is given to the next in line.  It's nature's way of making sure a family's power continues as long as there are descendants.  Correct me if I'm wrong, but you and your mother are the last of Emily Bennett's direct line, and because your mother technically died and became a vampire the magick would have gone to you as the eldest _mortal_ member of your family line."

He pauses then shrugs gracefully before he tells the young teenager, "If I'm correct, then you now have the power of every witch from your line going back to whichever of your ancestors wasn't the oldest of their generation at the time of their magickal parent's death."

My grandbaby frowns and asks, "Emily had siblings, so does it only go back to Emily?"

They all shake their heads before Elijah tells her, "No, it goes all the way back until one of your ancestors wasn't the oldest when their parents died.  My guess, if you think the magick is so much stronger, is that you come from a long line of firsts.  I know from my research into Mystic Falls in search of the location where The Hundred Dead Witches perished that Emily was the first child in her family, and if I have to hazard a guess, her ancestors were also the first, or at least the oldest surviving child when their parents died.  If you had a younger sibling and you were to die that sibling would then become the oldest surviving member of the generation and the power would pass to him or her when their magickal parent died.  Once you have the power _and_ children, though, if you died it would be passed down to _your_ oldest surviving child." 

Bonnie is nodding slowly while he speaks, so he continues, "From what I know of Emily's descendants, your grandmother, her mother, and her mother, who happened to be Emily's daughter, were each the oldest when their mothers died.  Because you and your mother are each an only child, you are the last two of your line so when your grandmother died the power would have passed to her only child despite the fact your mother seemed to have lost her ability to use her magick.  When she went into transition, it passed to you even though it was at the time also being blocked from your use."

She's still nodding so Elijah smiles and tells her, "You may wish to investigate your family history and see if you can figure out just how far back the line of firsts goes in your direct family line.  My guess is it goes very far back, just based on the power I can feel coming off of you right now." 

She grins even wider when she asks, "You can feel it?"

They all nod, so she tells him, "Wow, that's pretty cool."

Kol smiles widely and then says, "I'd go so far as to wager that perhaps your line of firsts at the very least goes back pretty close to Esther's mentor, Ayana."

My very smart granddaughter asks, "Not to bring up a bad memory, but Esther channeled my family's line to kill all of you.  She said she needed access to the magick she channeled when you turned so she could turn you back into humans and then kill you.  That would imply that Abby and I are in a line of firsts going all the way back to Ayana, no?  Otherwise based on what you just told me Esther wouldn't have been able to access Ayana's power through us.  Or am I misunderstanding?"

Kol smiles even broader, showing off straight pearly white teeth before he nods and says to her, "You're brilliant," then he turns to his siblings and tells them, "She's absolutely correct.  If Esther was channeling their line for the sole purpose of accessing Ayana's magick specifically then Bonnie, her mother, and Sheila all have to be descendants of firsts going all the way back to Ayana." 

He pauses while his siblings all nod and then he tells them all, "I actually had a conversation with Ayana about family lines when I was about ten autumns old.  The point she was trying to make was that it was too bad I was not the oldest of my siblings because Esther was herself from a long line of firsts and that power combined with my already substantially more powerful magick would have been amazing.  Given what I know now that means Freya has our entire line's magick, which is why Dahlia wanted our sister so she could tap into the family's power without being the firstborn." 

He shakes his head ever so slightly and then says, "Anyway, my point now is that Ayana told me during that conversation that her own ancestors were descended from a long line of firsts.  Therefore, I would posit that Bonnie's line of firsts probably goes much farther back than Esther's mentor."

Bonnie's eyes are round, but she smiles and tells them all, "Grams left me the book full of our family history.  I know from conversations with her as well as some brief browsing I did periodically growing up that it names our ancestors going back probably three or four thousand years.  Gram's said it's not actually written on paper but parchment and that magick preserves it and prevents it from deteriorating, so I just might investigate my line's history."  She smiles, and nods once then says, "Thanks, guys." 

Elijah smiles and then picks his watch up off the towel by her feet and says, "It's time, does everyone know what to do?"

His three siblings all nod and then the four of them run into the water.  Niklaus is facing away from everyone while he submerges himself because if it doesn't work, he doesn't want anyone to see his disappointment.  While he's underwater, he thinks the chant and then pops back out of the water. 

They all stand there for a few seconds before a wind blows over them, and they all feel something they haven't felt in a thousand years when their magick slowly fills up the holes it left behind all those centuries ago.  Their magick feels stronger to them too, but that's just because it's now somewhere between 1,034 and 1,026 years old depending on which sibling you're talking about.

Niklaus can feel his Aura very slowly filling in the holes, so he turns and faces his family, and he can tell it worked for Kol, Rebekah, and Elijah too because they have broad smiles on their faces, and the holes in their auras are slowly filling themselves in. 

The hybrid's magick seems to be returning slower than his sibling's magick if the speed of their healing auras is any indication compared to how slowly he can feel his magick filling the hole that it left behind when it was stolen from him. 

They're all smiling at each other while they watch everyone's auras filling in.  Elijah, Kol, and Rebekah wonder why their brother's aura seems to be slowly, much more slowly than the rest of them, filling in, but Niklaus doesn't care, and he can't help but grin wider when Kol smiles back at him. 

The Mikaelsons all walk up out of the water, and when Niklaus reaches the towels, he looks down at my granddaughter standing there and says, "It looks as though you were wrong about the wolf in me interfering."

She nods but asks, "Are you sure because your aura, while like 95% better than it was, still has a few holes in it."

He grins and tells her, "I'm sure."

She nods back and tells him, "That's weird, but I'm glad, Klaus.  I was hoping I was wrong." 

Because they're vampires they can all tell that she means that wholeheartedly, and the hybrid doesn't know about the rest of his siblings, but my grandbaby just won him over in terms of any doubt he might have had about her becoming a permanent member of their family.

He looks at her for a minute then says, "Do you know that experienced vampires can tell when someone is lying?  Your temperature would spike, and your heartbeat would skip while your heart rate and breathing would both pick up and your pupils would constrict slightly, so I know that you really mean what you just said."  He pauses then asks, "How is that possible, after everything I've done to you and your friends?"

Her eyes widen while he speaks, and she apparently didn't realize they could tell that much, but because every emotion has a physiological response and their senses are so sensitive, vampires are generally pretty much walking, talking lie detectors and the Mikaelsons' ages and much more superior senses make that even more accurate. 

Still, she shrugs and tells him, "No one should only be part of themselves, and if I could have reactivated your wolf side without killing Elena, I would have done it because it was wrong that it was taken from you.  As it was, once I knew the truth of the curse the only reason I tried to stop you was because it required three deaths to accomplish and _one_ of those was that of my best friend.”

She sighs and then tells him, “Maybe it's wrong of me that I would have allowed you to do the spell if it didn't require _Elena's_ death to work.  When it comes down to it, though, your balance was all out of whack not just because of The Immortality Spell your mother did or even that your magick was stolen from you as a result of that magick but also because your mother took it upon herself to take your wolf side away from you.”

She looks up at him and meets his eyes before continuing her thought, “God, Himself, bestowed that upon you, and your mother just took it away, by force if what I've heard is any indication.  No one has the right to do that to _anyone_.  I also think your mission and tireless drive to undo what your mother did was a natural drive that you would have had until you managed to return to your full self because what _she_ did to _you_ wasn't natural.”

She pauses and then adds, “And her bull about _you_ being inherently unnatural is just that:  Bull.  She knew full well who your father was, or at least she had a good idea that you weren't from Mikael's line, and she probably knew just as well that your actual father was from a line of wolves, so she should have thought of all of that before she began casting an immortality spell.”

She stops and takes a breath and then shrugs one shoulder and tells him, “Then again both spells she did on you were, from what I've read in my gram's books, so incredibly dark it's not even funny, so she should have thought long and hard about the intelligence of doing those spells anyway.  But going back to the spell to inhibit your wolf side: My belief that no one should have a whole side of themselves repressed against their will is still true now."

My baby girl means that wholeheartedly too, so Niklaus smiles slightly and honestly tells her words he's rarely spoken, "Well I owe you one, Witch."

Her hazel eyes widen even more at that, but then she smiles when Kol gets tired of giving them a moment and picks her up swinging her around and says, "It worked, Darling."

She giggles before he sets her back down on her feet.  She smiles at him while he beams down at her and she tells him, "I'm glad, Kol.  Thank you for helping me get my magick back."

He nods and quickly kisses her forehead.  Her green eyes widen at his action but she's shivering slightly, and her lips have a very slight blue tinge to them, so he tells her, "You should put your clothes back on, Darling, before you catch a cold."

The ocean breeze is blowing steadily, and the sun is just about below the horizon at this point, so the temperature is steadily dropping despite us being in Florida, so she nods and quickly puts her clothes on over her slightly damp suit.  Then she whispers a few words before yelping, "Oww."

The Mikaelsons look at her with their eyebrows raised though they're sure they already know what happened but Kol still asks, "Are you alright, Little Bella?"

Frowning she tells him, "Yeah, I tried to dry my suit magickally, and it worked, but it worked a little too well, so it got a little hotter than I would have liked it to get."

The originals all nod even though her back is facing them.

The vampires all take off their suits and put their clothes back on at inhuman speed, so no one sees anything, and their bathing suits are in their hands when she turns back to face them.  Vamp speed is definitely handy to have.  Her eyebrows rise towards her hairline, but she doesn't comment.

The five of them quickly clean up and put everything back into their bags and then my grandbaby zips hers shut before putting the bag on backward again and turning to face Kol.  He smiles and picks her up, and soon we're running back towards Mystic Falls.

When we reach Mystic Falls' city line just after 5:30 p.m., Elijah and Niklaus part ways with their younger siblings and head to their home.  Kol, still holding Bonnie, and Rebekah run towards the home my granddaughter shares with her good-for-nothing father. 

My grandbaby fell asleep during the trip again, so when we arrive, Kol sets her down on the hood of her car and stroking her cheek he tells her, "Little Bella, time to wake up enough to go inside and go to bed."

She grabs his hand and curls onto her side before she moans and quietly says, "Hmm, Kol."

Us ghosts all smile because we see in her mind that she's dreaming of doing those things I still say she's too young to be doing.

Kol and Rebekah smile too.  Rebekah came to the house with her brother so that she can get the books Bonnie promised her. 

Kol leans in and whispers, "Little Bella, whatever you're dreaming, you can continue it once you're inside safe and sound and tucked into your bed for the night."

Her hazel eyes flutter open, and she looks around slowly as if she's trying to figure out where they are.  She lets go of Kol’s hand a moment later and sits up on the hood of her car nearly toppling over, so he uses his hand on her shoulder to steady her.

Rubbing at her eyes, she asks her two companions, "I fell asleep again?"

They both just smile, so she nods back before sliding off her car.  Wobbling a little on unsteady legs, she walks towards her front door and says, "Rebekah, I'll just be a minute, and then I'll be back out with the books, okay?"

Rebekah nods, and we all watch while Bonnie walks into her house.  Kol pauses and thinks, _'Should I leave?  No, I'll wait and say goodnight.'_

Three minutes later my granddaughter returns with a plastic bag that looks to have a box in it.  She smiles when she hands it to Rebekah and says, "It's a Box Set, so it's a little awkward to carry.  There's a slip of paper in the first book with my phone number and email address for when you want to give them back."

She pauses then with a gentle smile on her face she says, "Although, you should know that I won't be upset if you use either before you're ready to give the books back.  Despite the serious nature of what we were doing I kind of had fun." 

Then she surprises all three of them by hugging the older girl and telling her, "I'm really happy it worked for you guys.  Have a good night, Rebekah."

Rebekah awkwardly returns the hug then says, "Thank you.  I had fun too, and I hope you sleep well."

When Bonnie lets go of his sister she turns to Kol and shuffles her feet for a minute while she looks at the ground.  A moment later she says under her breath, "God, just do it," and then he has his arms full of Bonnie who hugs him and says, "I can't thank you enough, Kol, for giving me back my powers.  I owe you one."

Smiling, he smooths his hand soothingly up and down her back while he tells her honestly, "You already paid back any possible debt you could have had by suggesting my family try the ritual essentially giving us back _our_ magick.  If you want, though, you can pay me back by staying as far away from dark magick as you possibly can.  Nothing good ever comes from that stuff, so steer clear of it in the future, and I'll call us even, okay?"

My grandbaby nods her head against his chest, and then the scent of her blood so close to the surface reaches his nose and tells him she's blushing a moment before she pulls away and with what he thinks are delightfully red cheeks once again shuffles her feet and looks at the ground.

He leans in and tilts her chin up so he can kiss her forehead again before telling her, "Sweet dreams, Little Bella."

When he begins turning away she says, "Wait, I, um, I wrote down my phone number and email for you too, um, since we're doing the friend thing and all.  Uh, if you want to, you can give it to Elijah and Klaus too, if they want it.  Although, I'll be surprised if they do want it."

She takes two steps towards him and hands him a little slip of paper, so he smiles and tells her, "Thank you, Bonnie, I'll be in touch then."

She brings her hand up to her mouth to cover a yawn but nods and then turns and goes back into her house.   The two vampires wait to hear the lock click into place and then Rebekah smiles at Kol, and while they begin walking away from Bonnie’s home she says, "Despite who her best friend is, I like her, and I definitely like you and her together."

Kol just smiles so Rebekah continues her commentary, "You complement each other, even better than you and Eija and you and Chalina did."

She pauses and then after replaying what she said over in her head she quickly adds, "Don't get me wrong, Eija and Chalina and you were each perfect for the other at the time, but it's more pronounced to me between you and Bonnie.  You just click in ways you and your two previous loves didn't quite mesh."

She pauses again and considers her words then tells Kol who is listening intently, "I think it’s Bonnie's personality.  While neither Eija or Chalina would have let any of us walk all over them your new love is more, hmm, I don't know the word, but it's like there's a certain degree of respect and graciousness that wasn't present with the other two.  I mean you were just a boy when Eija was your betrothed, so no one really respected you back then, and although Chalina respected you, there was a certain degree of reserve that I think was a result of what we are.  She was slightly wary of us because of us being vampires, and while Bonnie is certainly wary too, it has a different quality to it that I just can't place."

Pausing again, she searches her vocabulary for the words she needs to adequately explain her opinion then she says, "It's like with Nik and me.  He's killed people that Bonnie cares about and I killed Elena causing her to go into transition and become a vampire.  Bonnie is obviously and understandably incredibly aware of both facts, but she doesn't allow either fact to keep her from standing up for herself and her loved ones.  She knows we could both break her in one of her human heartbeats, but she still offered us both a second chance but was sure to include a warning that she'll find a way to end either of us if we hurt anyone else she cares about." 

She stops walking and turns to look at Kol who is still smiling and then nods and tells him, "Neither Eija nor Chalina would have warned us, not so directly at least.  It's almost as though she respects us and the damage we are capable of producing due to what we are and how old we are.  However, she acknowledges and respects that we're also people, so she's willing to give us one more chance, and the person she is insists that she give us fair warning that the chance is our one and only second chance."

She smiles widely, and after beginning to walk again, she says honestly, "Anyway, the point is she's an excellent match for who you are now, and I think she will make an excellent little sister."

Rebekah practically skips while she walks and tells him, "Honestly, I'm kind of excited to have a girlfriend and not be the youngest girl in this family anymore."

Kol smiles back and then tells his sister, "I agree completely.  She's very aware of what we can do and the damage we can cause, but she's not allowing it to stop her from giving us an honest chance at proving ourselves worthy of her friendship." 

While he walks, he pauses and looks at his sister waiting for her to turn and look at him.  When she does look him in the eye, he warns her just as he intends to warn their two brothers later, "Make no mistake, if any one of us betrays that trust she's giving us, nothing in this world will be able to protect us from her wrath.  She will be the end of us if we break the truce unprovoked and harm anyone she cares about."

Rebekah nods so after resuming walking he swallows thickly and then sucks it up and tells her, "Beks, I wanted to, um, well, apologize for the other night when I threatened to stake you.  The whole Silas thing had me so turned around, and you were threatening to dagger me, and, well, I acted without thinking through the consequences of my possible actions.  I would have hated myself if I had killed you, so I'm sorry.  Always and Forever."

She smiles and nods before she tells him, "Thank you, and for what it's worth I'm sorry I threatened to dagger you.  In retrospect, I shouldn't have done that.  I don't want to be like Nik in that respect."

He stops walking and turns to face his sister.  When she stops walking too and turns facing him he hugs her tightly and repeats, "Always and Forever," then after she reiterates the pledge, he lets go of her and resumes walking again.  He spies a smile on her face, so he grins in return and the two walk in silence for a few minutes.

When they reach the turn Kol needs to take so he can visit the first of Bonnie's friends, he tells Rebekah, "I need to visit all of Bonnie's friends and compel them not to threaten or physically harm her, so I'll catch up with you later."

Rebekah nods and turns towards their home while he heads towards The Salvatore Boarding House to make sure Bonnie is as safe as he can make her.

I pause and look at Kol and then at Rebekah's retreating figure and then I look at Freya, Finn, and Henrik.  Who should I follow?

Finn smiles and tells me, "Go be with your granddaughter.  I'll follow Kol and Henrik and Freya if you don't mind you can both go see how the others are faring and we can all fill each other in on what we miss later."

I nod and smile, "Thank you, Finn."  I lean up and kiss his cheek before having to hold in a giggle at his wide eyes and gaping mouth at my boldness.

I don't give him an opportunity to object and instead think myself back to my granddaughter's house.


	8. The Feeling is Mutual

**______________________________________________________________________________**

**Chapter 008**

**The Feeling is Mutual**

**______________________________________________________________________________**

**Friday, December 03, 2010, 5:50 p.m.**

**Bonnie's House**

**______________________________________________________________________________**

When I get back to Bonnie's house, she's standing inside leaning against the front door.  I frown and wish I could ask her what's wrong but then the teen sighs and I hear in her thoughts, _'Thank God, no one was waiting for me to get home.'_  

She pauses her thought then continues, _'I'm actually surprised, given how my friends usually act towards me that no one was lying in wait ready to jump out and accost Kol.'_  

She sighs again and then thinks, _'Well, why ever they're acting out of character I'm grateful for it.  Rebekah's presence would have pissed off my friends, and they're apt to overreact when the Mikaelsons are involved.”_

She tilts her head, _‘I wonder what it is about the older vampires that pushes all my friends’ buttons so perfectly?  I mean Klaus not being their favorite person makes sense, but Kol was right.  Other than Klaus none of the Mikaelsons attacked us first.  They always reacted to our actions.  So why did we all feel so compelled to attack first and ask questions later, or not at all if I'm honest.'_

She pushes off the door with a deep sigh and walks into the kitchen still thinking, _'I'm glad that the Mikaelsons are giving me a second chance to prove myself.  I know I made a big deal out of my giving Klaus a second chance, but they're all giving me a second chance, too, and for that I am grateful.'_

She smiles while she begins moving around the room making and cooking a quick dinner of fresh tortellini's and pesto sauce, which I know from experience is her comfort food. 

Is she in need of comfort because of what Caroline did or is there some other thing that's bothering her?  Her thoughts don't imply that she's in need of comfort at all, _'I actually had fun with The Original Family today.  Even Klaus was fun to hang out with.  I get the sense that it's been a long, long time since they last just hung out with someone, not a Mikaelson.  They all seem lonely, especially Klaus and Rebekah.  I hope Rebekah takes my olive branch and calls me sometime.  She's obviously in desperate need of a girlfriend she can trust.  I can't imagine being the only girl in a family of six siblings.  Although, I guess she's really one of two, but Freya was long gone by the time Rebekah was born.'_

My grandbaby frowns and says, "Just one more reason to hate their mother, selfish bitch.  Who barters their own freaking child?  I mean who the hell does that?  Kol made it sound like Freya is still around, but I think he said something about a magickally induced sleep.  I wonder when she's scheduled to wake up."

She surprises herself when she utters softly, "I kind of hope I get to meet her someday, but more importantly, I hope Rebekah gets to reconnect with her sister, so she won't be the only girl anymore."

I jump in place startled when Freya says from behind me, "Sheila, you really did an excellent job raising your granddaughter.  She's a remarkable and incredibly compassionate individual.  I can't imagine any of her friends would even think about me any farther than how my existence would affect their mission to destroy my family."

I nod and tell her, "Thank you, but I can't take all the credit.  Most of it belongs to Bonnie herself.  She was born caring about other people."

Freya smiles and nods before she tells me, "Niklaus is busy painting a memento of this afternoon.  His quick sketches tell me it's going to be of Kol, Bonnie, and Rebekah sitting on their towels talking with big smiles on their faces."

He's incredibly talented, so I know it will be a beautiful piece of art when he's done with it.

She smiles and tells me, "I hope you don't mind, I thought I'd come and join you in your vigil over Bonnie because I enjoy watching paint dry about as much as my brother does."

Laughing at her reference to an earlier conversation with Finn about how boring The Otherside can be without other ghosts to talk with I nod and tell her, "I don't mind at all."

We turn and look at Bonnie while she collects what she needs to cook her meal and waits for the water to boil.  Her thoughts seem focused on Caroline at the moment before she texts her friend, "I'm still mad at you, but I want you to know that I'm home safe and sound without so much as a single hair out of place."

Caroline texts her back less than a second later prompting my grandbaby to think, _'Damn vampire speed.'_

I laugh at that while Freya and I lean over Bonnie's shoulder and read her friend's message, "I'm sorry I told Klaus and Tyler your personal stuff.  I'm glad you're okay.  Did the spell work?  Do you have your magick back?"

My baby girl smiles and tells Caroline, "I know you're sorry.  I need time to get over it, but I _will_ get over it.  BFF.  Yes, the spell worked, so I have my magick back, and before you ask, Kol was a perfect gentleman and didn't make any move to harm me in any way."

The water begins to boil, so she throws her pasta into the pot and then because Caroline responded lightning quick again she reads, "BFF.  Good, I'm glad he didn't hurt you.  And now I can relax a bit because you have your magick back, so now you can kick vampire ass without needing a bodyguard."  An emoji of a man performing a karate kick follows the word bodyguard.

We all laugh, and Bonnie sends a smiley face with its tongue sticking out then she tells her best friend, "It's been a long ass day, and not only did I get less than an hour and a half of sleep last night, but I must have cried like a million times today, so I'm beat.  I'm going to eat then head to bed as soon as I wash the beach off me.  I'll talk to you tomorrow, okay?"

I can see Caroline's frown in my mind's eye when I read her reply text, "Wait, why did you cry?  What did Kol do?"

My granddaughter frowns at her friend immediately jumping to the conclusion that Kol did something.  She tells Caroline, "He didn't do anything.  The first time was because of something Damon said.  Then I cried a few more times when talking to Kol about Grams and my magick, but he didn't do anything, nothing bad anyhow.  He held me the first time and just let me cry myself out.  Then the second time I was hyperventilating over my hurting Grams, and he talked me down off the ledge while holding my hand."

Caroline sends back a picture of two smiley faces kissing so while laughing Bonnie sends back another smile with its tongue sticking out before telling her slightly neurotic friend, "I'll tell you the rest tomorrow, okay?  I need sleep."

Caroline sends back, "Okay, love you, Bon."

Smiling my grandbaby types back, "Love you too, Care." Then she puts her phone on the kitchen table at the same time the timer for the pasta goes off, and she takes it out of the water before tossing it in with the pesto and pine nuts. 

She quickly eats her dinner and then puts the rest into a Tupperware container with a note telling her father, 'Tonight's dinner if you haven't eaten already,' which is far more than the ass deserves.

Grabbing her phone off the table when she's done, Bonnie then heads to her room.  After collecting her night clothes, she showers before staring at herself in the mirror.  She pokes at several mottled purple and ugly yellow bruises that are in the process of healing. 

Freya frowns and asks, "Did my brother do that at the high school last night?"

I frown and shake my head and tell her, "No, so far as I know he didn't hurt her at all, simply scared her.  Those are all from her father."

My granddaughter thinks, _'Thank God I have that suit that covers most of the bruises.  I would not have wanted to have_ that _discussion with any of the Mikaelson's but definitely not with_ all _of them present, even if I am pretty sure they'd understand.'_

I have tears in my eyes while I watch her sigh before turning away from the mirror.  While she's putting on her flannel pants and a tank top and climbing into bed, Freya is clenching and unclenching her fists before she says in a low voice, "Forget Kol overreacting.  I think it's best that I don't ever meet my future sister's father on that side of The Veil or I might not be responsible for my actions.”

I just nod before Freya says, “I've heard the stories of how Mikael was with my siblings, but it's always been more of an abstract knowledge in the back of my mind.  But this right here, there is no denying your granddaughter has more in common with my siblings than she should ever have had to experience."

I shrug and tell her, "I know, but I think the similar experiences will actually help them grow closer to each other.  Your brothers and sister will understand that part of my baby girl's life far better than anyone else ever would."

I pause then confide in my friend, "I'll be honest, Rudy is damn lucky I was on this side of The Veil when I found out what he's been doing to my precious girl.  The fact I'm dead is the only reason he's not."

She nods and says, "Agreed."

I smile slightly and look at my granddaughter in her bed.  She fell asleep quickly despite the incredibly early hour. 

She spends most of her night dreaming of the 'bright as the shining sun' smiles on the Mikaelsons' faces when they realized they had their magick back after a thousand years without it.  The memory of it brings smiles to both Freya's and my faces.

The next day is Saturday, so Bonnie sleeps in and only wakes up because her cell phone rings.  She grumbles and curses, "If that's Caroline I'm going to kill her twice, once for telling my secrets and once for waking me up from that scrumptious dream of wet half naked Kol rolling around in the sand with me." 

She grabs the phone off the table beside her bed, and without looking at the caller ID, she pushes send and asks gruffly, "What?"

She frowns a moment later because it's not Caroline's voice that greets her but Rebekah's cautious voice that says, "Bonnie, Hi.  Um, I was wondering if you maybe want to come over and maybe play with our magick?"

My granddaughter is still cautious, so she thinks, _'Do I want to go over and play with my magick with the Mikaelson's?'_  

She's slightly conflicted, so she stalls for time by grumbling, "Rebekah, do you have any idea how comfortably asleep I was when you called?" 

Rebekah chuckles and tells her, "Um, sorry.  I figured based on how tired you were last night that you would have gone to bed early and you'd be up by now.  So, do you want to come and play with Kol and me?"

At that loaded question Bonnie's brain jumps back to her dream of her wrestling match with Kol in the sand, and she just sits there for a few minutes smiling like a ninny while the images play out in her mind before Rebekah asks, "Um, Bonnie, are you still there, or did you fall back to sleep?  You can go back to sleep and come over later if you want to."

My baby girl snaps out of her daydream induced stupor and laughs at herself before telling Rebekah, "That won't be necessary.  Um, what exactly will we be doing if I come over?"

I can hear the smile in her voice when she tells my grandbaby, "Little spells, like a levitation spell, and I wrote a make-up spell this morning that I want to try out that will make it unnecessary to wear conventional makeup."

Bonnie is, thankfully, still a little cautious, but she figures why not, so she tells Rebekah, "Give me 45 minutes to get ready and drive over."

I can hear the smile in her voice again when Rebekah says, "See you then.  Oh, and don't bother with breakfast because I decided to try donuts, so I have a whole box of them."

Bonnie thinks, _'Yum,'_ before asking, "You got any chocolate frosted with sprinkles?"

Rebekah laughs, "Yes I have four of those, and I already told Kol he can't have any of them because I remember you having a conversation with Caroline about your favorite donut at Cheer Practice a couple of weeks ago."

Smiling widely Bonnie tells her, "Thanks Rebekah, you're the best."

She laughs back and says, "Go get ready, and I'll have your Iced Mocha and two donuts waiting for you when you get here."

My granddaughter's jaw drops, "Did I hear Iced Mocha?"

Rebekah laughs again and says, "God, you’re as easily distracted as Kol is.  Yes, Kol came with me when I got the Donuts, and we stopped at The Coffee Shop and got him a Hot Black Coffee, boring, and you and I got Iced Mochas.  Now go get dressed before I drink your Mocha."

Bonnie laughs and tells her, "Step away from the Mocha, Rebekah."

She laughs but says, "Stop delaying and I will."

Still smiling Bonnie flips her blanket off her legs and sits up before she tells her, "Okay, I'll see you soon,” then she hangs up and goes and inspects her wardrobe. 

My baby girl thinks, _'Hmm, what should I wear?  Rebekah probably won't care what I look like, but she mentioned Kol being there, and I want to look my best for him.'_ Her thoughts grind to a halt before she thinks, _'Wait, what?  Why do I care what he thinks about what I look like?'_ Sighing she mentally berates herself, _'God, I'm in trouble.  I think I went and broke that promise I made yesterday because I definitely have a raging crush on one Kol Mikaelson, Bad Boy Original Vampire Extraordinaire.  Damn, now what do I do?'_

She's just standing in her bedroom staring sightlessly at her clothes hanging in her closet, so she visibly shakes her head and shoulders and then in a stern mental voice orders herself, _'Get dressed, Bonnie.'_  

Freya and I laugh at her inner monologue while she flips through her clothes taking out and then putting back several tops before she catches what she's doing and grabs the purple one she just put back and throws it on.  Still, she looks in the mirror after she puts on her stonewashed skinny jeans and high heels and double checks that her look is tasteful and not crossing that trashy line Kol kept mentioning yesterday. 

Then she thinks, _'Damn I'm focusing on pleasing Kol again,_ ' so she frowns and heads back into the bathroom to put her make-up on while grumbling to herself.  "What is so great about Kol Mikaelson anyway?  He's a killer Bonnie.  Get a grip." 

She pauses her rant and then reluctantly admits, "Okay, yeah he seems genuinely sorry for all of the death he's caused but does being sorry really make it okay?"

She frowns at herself while she applies her foundation, "What would Grams say?  Hmm, she'd probably say that we're all sinners and no one sin is greater or worse than any other.  They all have equal weight.  Then she'd give me _that_ look and tell me, 'If God forgives those who are genuinely sorry for their sins then don't you think we should too.'"

I laugh and tell Freya, "She's not wrong on any of it."

Freya smiles and nods before my granddaughter continues her rambling, "Okay, so he's sorry, and I'm unaware of him actually killing anyone other than those vampires Klaus tried to turn for Jeremy to kill.  Those deaths fall on Klaus, not his brother because someone was going to need to kill them.  Kol just got to them first, and it's a lucky thing too because I've come to believe Silas is everything the original thinks The First Immortal is." 

She shakes her head and then says softly, "But back to Kol.  So far as I know, he hasn't been going around killing people.  Sheriff Forbes or even my dad would have mentioned if drained bodies were piling up missing all their blood.  Neither of them has said anything though so I'm pretty sure none of the Mikaelsons have been out killing willy-nilly.  That means Kol is actively trying not to repeat his sins, so that implies he's truly sorry for his crimes.  So that begs the question, is that enough?"

While she puts her mascara and eyeliner on she frowns and tells herself, "Honestly who am I to judge?  I killed Shane, and despite my heavy guilt, I'd do it again.  What's that say about me?"

She puts the eyeliner down when she finishes and then stands with her hands pushing against the counter while staring into the mirror.  She nods once and says, "Every single last one of my friends has killed someone at least once so if I'm willing to remain friends with them then I should be willing to befriend Kol and his siblings.  My friends and I are truly no better than the originals so provided the Mikaelsons don't start killing people indiscriminately then I should have no problem with them.  I have no room to throw stones."

My precious baby girl nods at herself again before putting her lipstick on and then she leaves the room while she says, "So I guess I'm now friends with the Mikaelsons, so there really isn't anything wrong with crushing on one of them.  He is a hottie after all.  All my friends have either crushed on, dated, or even slept with killers, so they have no room to throw stones either.  Besides since when have I relied on other people's opinions to form my own or take action?  Since never that's when.  So, I have a crush on Kol Mikaelson.  Sue me.  I have perfectly working eyes thank you very much, and he's definitively cute, and anyone, like Elena, who says otherwise is a liar."

She nods at her words and says, "Well either that or they're blind."

Freya and I laugh while my grandbaby picks through some of Jonas Martin's books and then grabs a few of them.  Once she's ready for the day, she goes over to the Mikaelson's house with her pile of books and a clear conscience.

My granddaughter sits in her car for a few minutes when she arrives at the Mikaelson's Mansion silently asking herself, _'Is this a good idea, Bonnie?  I mean being friends with The Original Family?  The others will freak.'_   She frowns at herself while she looks at her reflection in the windshield.  _'Again, who cares what the others think?  The Mikaelson's are obviously misunderstood by, well, just about everyone.'_

She nods at her internal statement then continues the thought, _'I spent a good chunk of yesterday with all of them and not only did not a single one of them try to harm me, but I had fun, too.  And don't you know, I actually like who I'm beginning to realize they are beneath the masks they show the world.'_  

Nodding at her reflection again she takes off her seatbelt and gets out of the car before grabbing her purse and her pile of books from the back seat.

Bonnie appreciates that Rebekah and her brothers don't 'hang out' with just anyone.  They rarely give out the opportunity to spend time with them, but it was freely given yesterday, and she appreciates that they are offering her something they have never offered anyone else before.

Rebekah doesn't even let Bonnie try maneuvering to knock before she throws the door open when Bonnie's about ten feet from it.  She smiles and asks my grandbaby, "Convinced yourself you're not making a terrible mistake by spending more time with us?"

My granddaughter blushes but tells her honestly, "Yes.  I decided that 1.) My friends have all killed at least one person each, so they shouldn't judge you all because they're just as guilty of bad behavior.  2.) What the others might think doesn't matter because I had fun yesterday and I kind of like you guys when you're not trying to kill my friends or me.  Therefore, my other friends can go shove it if they don't like my choices.  Lord knows they do things I don't approve of all the time, so it's time for them to accept that we need to agree to disagree."

She frowns slightly and adds, "Now I'll be honest, my friends probably won't take the high road where you and your siblings are concerned, but I have a clear conscience.  I have decided that you all, even Klaus, are just as deserving of my friendship as my other friends.  Well, if you actually want it, which you at least seem to because you invited me over so anyway, my friends’ opinions have been noted and discarded as overly judgmental and therefore inadmissible."

Rebekah laughs and nods before telling Bonnie, "Good, because we kind of like you, too, when you're, you know, not trying to kill us back."

Bonnie laughs and follows Rebekah into the house.  They walk through the foyer and down the hall into the den.  Rebekah takes Bonnie's books from her hands and places them on one of the coffee tables then she says, "Follow me, I have a strict rule about sweet drinks being drunk anywhere but in the kitchen, where if they spill it won't be such a big deal.  I've already had to deal with Nik's ire when I ruined the leather couch twice by spilling my Iced Mocha when the lid popped off."

Laughing again Bonnie follows her and tells her, "I have the same rule for my car because I've had to scrub sticky coffee out of the rug three times now.  Never let it be said I don't eventually learn my lesson."

When they walk into the Kitchen, Kol stands like the gentleman he is and smiles at my granddaughter before he says, "Little Bella, it's nice to see you.  You look well rested.  Have any interesting dreams?"

Rebekah rolls her eyes at her brother while Bonnie's green eyes shoot up to his and her cheeks burn with embarrassment, but Rebekah slaps her brother's chest when she walks by and tells him, "Oh leave her be, Kol.  She can't help it if her subconscious likes the idea of half-naked wet you."

My grandbaby's eyes widen, and she stutters out, "H-how?"

Rebekah smiles at her gently and tells her, "You spoke in your sleep while we were running back here from the beach."

Bonnie's hand slaps her forehead before she says, "Oh God."  Her eyes are closed and then she peaks them open and tells a widely grinning Kol, "Don't be getting a big head, Kol.  Your body is very nice to look at, and you damn well know that, so it's not my fault I noticed."

He laughs and nods before telling her, "Just as it's not my fault that I am definitely noticing how lovely you look wearing red.  That purple blouse looks exquisite on you, too, especially because it complements the crimson in your cheeks at the moment."

Bonnie's blush deepens, but she doesn't respond verbally instead she walks to the counter and steals a donut out of the box and takes a bite before closing her eyes and moaning, "God, I love these."

Rebekah nods deeply while she takes a bite of her own donut.  Meanwhile, Kol laughs and tells Bonnie, "You can ignore me all you want, Little Bella, but I'm afraid I'm not going away."

Hiding her smile behind her donut, she tells him, "One can hope though."

His hand comes up and rests over his heart before he says, "Oh that hurt, Little Bella."

Laughing my granddaughter tells him, "Truth hurts sometimes, Kol."

Rebekah frowns and interrupts, "God, are you two going to do this all day?  Maybe Bonnie and I should go elsewhere."

Kol frowns back and sits up straight before he says, "That won't be necessary 'Bekah.  I'll behave."

She smiles and nods, so they sit and eat their ooey-gooey donuts and drink their sweet drinks before they head out to the den and collect Bonnie's books and then head up to Kol room.

When they enter his study, my granddaughter moves to one of the chairs in the corner, and after setting her books on the floor by the chair, she sits and smiles when Rebekah follows her and sits in the seat across from her. 

The first spell they do is the levitation spell Rebekah mentioned.  The blonde whispers the words intending to float a pen but all the furniture in the room pops up off the floor.  Bonnie's eyes are wide while she looks around and then tells Rebekah, "Maybe not so forcefully next time."

She nods before she whispers The Reversal Spell and the furniture floats back to the floor, and then she tries again, and this time she says the words softly and only the pen floats.  Smiling she then says, "I'll have to remember that.  It didn't use to be so easy."

Kol smiles and tells her, "'Bekah, think about it, we may not have had access to our magick all this time, but it's been growing in strength every year we survived just as we and our other abilities have.  Just because we couldn't use it doesn't mean it was stagnant.  Our magick is just as old as we are and as such it's now far more powerful than it was when we were 17 and almost 20 respectively."

That makes sense to the two girls, and they both figure that if anyone would know it would be him because he was undoubtedly the most magickally proficient and well versed of them through the years.  All the Mikaelsons stayed involved in magick, befriending witches as they met them, but Kol actively kept learning as much as he could and then solidified that knowledge in his mind by then turning around and teaching what he had learned to witches who didn't have anyone else to teach them.  They, like Bonnie, usually had suffered at least one loss and no longer had a teacher, and he would step in and show them everything he knew for as long as he could. 

Rebekah was around a couple of times when friends of his got involved in dark magick and he never once advocated using it.  He always cautioned his students about the dangers, but some of them just wanted the easy way, not the way they'd have to work at to be any good.  In her humble opinion, they were weak and weak minded.  From what her brother has told her of my granddaughter's experiences Rebekah knows my baby girl only got involved in dark magick to save her friends and then Atticus exploited her weakness and taught her expression for his own gain. 

Bonnie took extraordinarily little prompting from Kol to accept the help of her mother's friends and allow the spell to remove her addiction to the dark magick to be performed, so Rebekah knows she is not like most of the others her brother has known who got involved in that crap.

She nods at her brother's words and then says, "You try it, Bonnie."

Bonnie frowns and stands before concentrating and then whispers the words, although she does it with a little more force than she intended.  The teen blushes when everything in the room except the three of them shoots up to the ceiling.  Sheepishly she whispers, "Um, oops."

Kol laughs and says what they're all thinking, "We really need to find out just how far back your line of firsts goes because your magick seems even stronger than ours, and as I said your line of firsts at the very least goes back to Ayana and ours is a thousand-years-old.  While one would expect that your magick would only be a few hundred-years-old at most due to the incredible rarity of every one of your ancestors being the oldest child for more than a few hundred years, I think it's probably significantly older than even we are, double it maybe."

With wide eyes, Bonnie frowns and asks, "Really?"

He laughs and says, "Look around you, Bonnie, you said that spell far less forcefully than Beks did and your magick reacted far more strongly than hers did, so yes I think it's a very real possibility that your magick is several thousand years old at least."

I know who the first first was in our line, so I know he's correct.  Our magick goes back to about 3,775 years ago.  I had recently given the book of our ancestors to Bonnie when I died, so I'm sure first chance my grandbaby gets she'll begin reading through the ancient tome and try to discover who our line of magick started with.

In the meantime, Bonnie nods slowly and then softly reverses the spell watching while everything slowly floats back to the floor.

Next Rebekah smiles and says, "I want to try the make-up spell I wrote this morning."

She whispers the words and then smiles and asks, "Well?"

My granddaughter giggles even while Kol bursts out laughing so hard he doubles over at the waist and tells her between bouts of laughter, "You… you look… like a clown."

Rebekah frowns and walks into his bathroom to look, and then she gasps.  She looks like she painted the make-up on with a trowel.  The eyeshadow is blue and purple and so bright it hardly resembles the blue and purple in her blouse.  The blush on her cheeks looks like she's mortified, and her lipstick looks like a small child painted it on.   With wide eyes she quickly says the reversal spell sighing when it immediately disappears. 

When she comes out of the bathroom, my ever-optimistic baby girl laughs lightly and tells her, "On the plus side, at least you thought to make the reversal spell first instead of doing it _after_ trying the spell."

Rebekah nods but pouts and asks, "I wonder why it did that?"

Kol is still chuckling, but he manages to tell his sister, "Think about it, 'Bekah, you're not used to the strength of your magick yet, so naturally, anything you try is going to come out stronger and faster than what you want it to.  I think with practice you'll be able to make it do exactly what you want, but it'll take time."

Her pout deepens so Bonnie guesses at the reason and tells her, "You didn't just start doing the hard spells from the get-go when you were human.  It took time and practice to get the power to do what you wanted it to do, so now it's going to take time to tone it down because you very suddenly have much more power than what you once had.  I think it's going to take work on all our parts to get used to it.  It's like I can feel it buzzing just beneath my skin just waiting for me to use it, and it’s kind of scary how badly it seems to want to be used.  What if I use it for bad things?  I… I don't want to hurt anyone."

Kol walks to my teary-eyed granddaughter and pulls her out of her seat and into his arms before smoothing his hand down her hair and telling her, "Don't worry, Darling.  You've got all of us, and we'll help you okay?  And I personally promise not to let you go down the wrong path again without putting up an incredibly hard fight, okay?"

We all know he is not making that promise lightly.  Even if he didn't want her for his mate, he would keep his promise and do everything in his power to keep her from going against The Laws of Nature again. 

She seems to understand because she nods and snuggles deeper into his arms clearly enjoying his warmth and the spicy scent that floats off him.  Kol for his part is also enjoying the soft scent of jasmine that wafts off my granddaughter every time he touches her hair.  Her softness is also pleasing to him, and he has a gentle smile on his face while he holds her.  At this point, nothing is more precious to him than Bonnie.

Rebekah shifts softly from foot to foot reluctant to do or say anything to break the moment between the two, but the choice is no longer theirs when there is a knock on the door to Kol's bedroom, so he reluctantly releases Bonnie and goes and answers the door.

Kol comes back into the study with his two older brothers in tow.  Elijah smiles and says, "Good morning, Bonnie."

She smiles widely and tells them both, "Good morning, Elijah, Klaus."

The hybrid nods in response and then practically vibrates out of his skin while he walks to the rows of books on his brother's bookcases and starts running his hand over the spines looking for something.  He makes a pleased sound a moment later before pulling a book off the shelf and flipping through it.  When he finds what he's looking for he says, "I think we should do this spell."

He hands the book to Bonnie, and while she reads, Kol and the rest of us read over her shoulder.  A moment later Kol and Rebekah laugh and Kol says to his nearly bouncing brother, "God, Nik, you're still obsessed with this spell?"

Bonnie looks up at her newly appointed mentor, so he smiles and tells her, "When I first got this book, Nik looked through it and began bitching about how he wished we still had our magick, so we could do this knowledge spell.  None of the witches he approached were strong enough to pull it off without possibly harming us, so he had no choice but not to try it.  He bitched about it for years, and every so often he'd remember that he couldn't do the spell, and he'd spend a few weeks bitching again."

Niklaus is smiling when he nods and says, "But now we are all probably strong enough to do it for each other, so I think we should do it."

Bonnie looks up at Kol again and asks, "Uh, what exactly will it do that has him wanting to do it so much?  It looks like all it does is give you information out of the book or books you anoint before placing the spell on the person."

Kol smiles a pleased smile and nods before he tells her, "That's exactly what it does, Darling."

Rebekah giggles when Bonnie frowns and asks the obvious question, "Uh Klaus, why do you want to know whatever so badly?"

He smiles and tells her, "Well, Luv, I've always wanted as much knowledge as I can gather.  I'm like my siblings in that respect.  And now it'll be useful for you and 'Bekah in that you can do your school books and all the textbooks Elijah and I have accumulated through the years, both as college students and as professors.  Although, except for four years as a Nordic History Professor at Oxford I mostly just taught Art, so I have fewer textbooks.  Even still, we have a sizable collection so you won't have any trouble taking tests or writing papers because you'll already know everything you need to know.  Just think, you'll have to put in significantly less effort to graduate, which given how little time I suspect you and your friends actually spend studying because of all the supernatural hi-jinx you all get up to that actually would probably be a pretty welcome release of the stress placed upon you."

My grandbaby narrows her eyes and asks, "Why are you so invested in me graduating and having less stress?  I mean, forgive me, but that seems out of character for you."

He smiles gently, and her eyes widen when she realizes he actually looks handsome when he's not trying to kill her and her friends.  Don't get me wrong, she definitely prefers Kol's good looks over Niklaus' good looks, but he actually looks nice when he's not giving his evil smirk as I've taken to calling it. 

Niklaus is still smiling that pleasant and what she thinks is a very out of character smile when he tells her, "Consider it my way of trying to begin making up for all the bullshit I've put you and your friends through in the last year or so.  I know it's a pebble dropped into a wide and bottomless ocean, and it'll take many more of them to pile up and mean anything substantial, but I figure I've got to start somewhere right?  So, I'll do my best to make sure you graduate especially because most of that hi-jinx I mentioned was a direct result of my actions."

He seems genuine, so we all smile before Bonnie looks at Kol and asks, "Is it safe to do the spell or…?"

He smiles, too, and nods, "I see no reason it should be unsafe to do, especially with the amount of power we've been exhibiting since our magick was returned to each of us.  The spell certainly isn't even remotely dark, so it's definitely safe in that respect."

My still cautious grandbaby nods but physically braces herself for him to blow up at her before she asks, "Not that I don't believe you, but will any of you object if I call Abby and double check that it's safe to do?"

They all shake their heads while Kol beams at her and says, "Very good, Bonnie.  That's exactly how you should have reacted, and while I can't speak for my siblings, I certainly won't be insulted if you double check that the spell is safe to do."

It's Niklaus of all people who tells her, "We all know firsthand how dangerous dark magick is, and I think I can speak for all of us when I say none of us want you to go down that road, so I certainly won't be offended if you call and ask your mother for a second opinion.  In fact, I'm inclined to congratulate you on being wise and making the right judgment call, and given who I am, that's saying something."

She nods slowly with wide eyes because he's absolutely right, so she takes her phone out of her pocket, but before she can dial, Elijah speaks up and hands her a book open to a spell, "I would suggest you also ask about this spell.  I think it will make you rest easier about your interactions with each of us."

My eyes widen when I read it over her shoulder.  It's a truth spell.  It will give a person a green glow if they're telling the truth, a yellow glow if they're bending the truth but not outright lying, and a red glow if they're flat out lying.  I agree she'll feel more confident about her interactions with them if they do this spell, and so does Bonnie, so she nods and then dials. 

After my granddaughter gives her a quick recap of the results of her doing The Balance Spell sans anything to indicate that the originals also did the spell, Bonnie reads both spells to her mother, and then my daughter says, "I see no reason either spell shouldn't be done.  They're certainly not dark, so if you want to do them, I won't object."

Smiling Bonnie nods despite her mother not being able to see her and then tells Abby, who is barely more than a stranger to her, "Thanks, Abby.  I'll talk to you later and tell you how they go okay?"

My selfish daughter reluctantly agrees so Bonnie hangs up and then they go about doing the two spells.  Apparently, Niklaus already gathered all his and his older brother's textbooks and classics into the living room for ease of use, so once they collect all of Rebekah's school books which are the same as Bonnie's it doesn't take long to cast either spell.

So far as The Truth Spell, my baby girl's shoulders relax almost as soon as the spell is cast, so I know she really does feel better about her interactions with the Mikaelsons now.  Not once all day after they cast the spell does she see them have anything other than a green glow.  Well, that is, except when they test The Truth Spell, and they say things like 'the sky is green,' 'the grass is purple,' 'the ocean is pink,' 'Elena is my most favorite person in the whole wide world,' and other stupid stuff like that.  Bonnie bursts out laughing when Rebekah says the bit about Elena and promptly gains a solid red glow.

Bonnie spends the rest of Saturday just hanging out and talking, getting to know them all better.  It turns out she thinks they're pretty interesting, and the feeling is mutual.


	9. You Have My Blessing

**______________________________________________________________________________**

**Chapter 009**

**You Have My Blessing**

**______________________________________________________________________________**

**Monday, December 13, 2010, 9:10 a.m.**

**Bonnie's House**

**______________________________________________________________________________**

Sunday was more of the same and every day after that my granddaughter didn't bother going to her house after school and Cheer Practice.  Instead, she drove herself over to the Mikaelson's home and hung out, mostly with Kol and Rebekah, but with Niklaus and Elijah sometimes, too.  They did homework, watched movies, did the occasional spell, and she's teaching all four of them how to cook homemade meals because they all seem inexplicably obsessed with the amount of sugar, sodium, and additives in processed food even though all that crap has little to no effect on their health unlike unlucky mortals. 

Anyway, other times they just sat and talked about the things they've experienced in their long lives.  Honestly, I think that's been my baby girl's favorite part of hanging out with all of them.  They've seen so very much of history and different cultures, especially Kol.  He traveled extensively through Africa, the Middle East, Asia, the Caribbean, and South, Central _and_ North America before the Europeans really began colonizing other regions.  His siblings mostly kept to the bigger more well-established cities in Eastern, Central, and Western Europe, and although they had exposure to plenty of culture and art, Kol spent time with various tribes and clans in the aforementioned places, so his experiences were vastly different and always involved witches and magick. 

He wasn't kidding when he said he made friends with other witches either.  It's been a little over a week since Bonnie began hanging out with the Mikaelson's and it's time for her bi-weekly phone conversation with her cousin, Lucy, whom she's been slowly getting to know better on the phone. 

After they exchange pleasantries, my granddaughter explains, "I'm playing hooky from school today because Elena and Stefan's attitudes are getting on my nerves.  That's why I'm calling so early." 

Then she tells Lucy all that's been going on in her life in the last two weeks including everything she hadn't already told her about the search for The Cure, her premonition, and she explains about the Mikaelson's doing the balance spell after making Lucy swear to secrecy.  Bonnie even admits that she killed Atticus and tells her about the _'shit ton of guilt'_ she feels over that fact.

I can hear the smile in Lucy's voice when she says, "Relax, Cuz, first things first, that professor was a predator worse than any vampire you might ever meet.  He needed to die to protect the rest of the world.  I know his death will haunt you for years at least, but every time you feel guilty remind yourself that by taking that one life you saved every other creature on the planet.  That's what, 6.8 Billion lives you saved with that one death?  That doesn't even consider what Silas would do to The Otherside so really the number of creatures you saved is much higher.  Now, I don't have any similar life experience, but my gut says that with time the guilt will fade to a more manageable level.  Just hang in there and keep reminding yourself of what would have happened to the world if you hadn't taken that life."

Bonnie nods and tells Lucy, "Okay, I'll try."

We both can hear the smile in her voice when Lucy tells my granddaughter, "Good, now as for your vampires, I actually know a bit about the Mikaelsons and specifically their relationships with other witches." 

She proceeds to give Bonnie 'the 411' that other witches of the world have on Kol.  "I have it on good authority that all four of the surviving Mikaelsons have only killed witches who have attacked or wronged the originals in some fashion.  Every single one of them is highly regarded amongst the various witch communities around the globe, but none more so than Kol."

I can hear the smile in her voice widen when she says, "Seriously Bon, other than the fact that Kol is a vampire, which everyone usually overlooks, he's well known and highly respected by most lines of witches throughout the world.  He's famous for taking young, inexperienced witches who, for whatever reason, don't have access to a teacher and he teaches them everything he knows about magick, which for the record is more than most witches will ever know.  He's taught some of the most famous witches to ever live.  I mean everyone from Alice Kyteler to Angele de la Barthe and Agnes Sampson.  None of them were the evil bitches the Church made them out to be, and they were supposedly his students with Agnes being one of his last European students before his family came back to the New World."

She pauses then says, "Well, actually, I think Chalina Fernández and her sister Josefina were his last students before sailing to New Orleans.  I think if I recall correctly Mikael killed Chalina and Josefina barely escaped with her life.  The other originals helped her and her fiancé flee Spain and sail to New Orleans on the same ship they sailed there on.  Therefore, her line is one of the most loyal to your original and really his whole family.  Kol tried to save Josefina's sister almost getting himself killed in the process, and as I said the other three Mikaelson's helped her get out of Europe so that Mikael wouldn't hunt her down and torture and kill her out of spite because he missed his chance to do the same to his own children." 

My grandbaby's eyes are wide at the last part, but she nods.  Kol told her once that he can count the number of witches he's personally killed without provocation on both hands and still have a finger or two left over, and the number is only that high because it took so long to get his bloodlust under control.  Those witches were in the wrong place at the wrong time.  The other witches he's killed, some 230 or so by his count, betrayed him and tried to harm those he cared about.  Witches the world over know _and_ respect that, especially given how much drastically lower that number is than the thousands and in some cases hundreds of thousands of the other species he has killed throughout his entire life. 

Bonnie never thought about the possibility that Mikael might attack his children's friends though she supposes it should have occurred to her based on everything Kol has told her about the ass.  Anyway, she guesses the fact that Kol is so loyal to the witches he befriends and only harms them when they harm him or someone he cares about has earned him the trust, devotion, and loyalty of every witch he's ever met and most of the ones he's never met too, for that matter.

Lucy's not done surprising my baby girl, though, when she says, "The fact that Kol and the rest of his siblings are taking you on as a student says that they think very highly of you because they've never been ones to bother themselves with amateurs or witches who half-ass it.  I know you had that issue with Expression and that Abby doesn't necessarily agree with your decision to trust The Original Family, but everything I know about Kol and his relationships with witches says that you're safe with him.  He's never taught or advocated _anyone_ using dark magick, and he's gone out of his way at least a dozen times that I know of to try to stop witches from killing themselves with that dark crap.”

She takes a breath and then continues, “Whatever he and his family may have done to the humans, all four of the surviving Mikaelson's have been nothing but good and decent to witches until the witch double crosses them.  Then the witch is screwed, but provided you don't try to harm them, I think you are safe with them, especially because I know you well enough at this point to know the likelihood of you attacking them is slim if they don't harm you and yours first.  Ultimately, I think you'll be fine."

Bonnie nods and tells her, "Thanks, Lucy.  That makes me feel better because Abby's been making me nervous with her unspoken disapproval."

Lucy laughs and says, "No problem, Little Cuz.  She's your mom, so naturally, she's more reserved about you involving yourself with The Original Family of Vampires.  If you were human and not a witch, I'd tell you to run and don't look back, but like I said, they all, but especially Kol, have nothing but good relationships and reputations among the multitude of witches around the world."

While my grandbaby was talking with Lucy, Finn popped into the room to tell me, "Kol is skulking in Bonnie's side yard listening to her phone conversation with her cousin.  How is she so remarkably knowledgeable about my family and more specifically our history with other witches?"

I shake my head and tell him, "I don't know how she knows what she knows."

He nods and then goes back out to watch his brother's reactions to Bonnie and Lucy's conversation stating, "He's so funny when he's so very smug."

I just laugh and shoo him away, so I don't miss any more of Bonnie's talk with Lucy.  I can still hear Finn chuckling while watching his brother outside.

I do tune into Kol's thoughts in time to hear when he realizes that Lucy is a Bennett too.  Mere moments after Bonnie gets off the phone with Lucy my good for nothing ex-son in-law pulls into the driveway.  He's breathing heavily when he gets out of his vehicle and slams the door so hard the glass rattles.  While Rudy stomps his way from the driveway to the front door, Kol frowns and a knot forms in my stomach.  This is not going to end well. 

My granddaughter's whispered, "Crap," tells me that her father wasn't supposed to know that she's not in school today. 

She already explained to Lucy that Elena's disapproving glares and Stefan's reproachful stares have begun to get on her nerves, so she decided to give herself a day free of them.  A day where she could just be by herself away from everyone, and now her father is about to have a fit.

The door crashes into the wall when the ass shoves it open, and I flinch at the sound before he screams, "Bonnie, you selfish brat, get down here now!"

She sighs, and Kol moves closer to the door because his instincts have always been strong and right now he has a bad feeling about how this is about to play out.  Bonnie is slowly walking down the hallway prompting her father to yell, "Now Bonnie, you do not want to make me wait."

She agrees with that opinion, so she rushes to the stairs and down them.  The abusive ass my daughter married about 20 years ago is in the living room still breathing heavily. 

From my angle, I watch while his eyes flash and he hisses when he sees Bonnie.  Then he practically growls while he says, "I saw Principle McMahon this morning.  When we finished our meeting, he wished you a speedy recovery.  Care to explain why he thinks you’re sick, and yet you are most definitely not sick?"

My baby girl sighs again and then answers in an incredibly quiet and obviously frightened voice while she stares at the ground and shifts her feet back and forth, "I'm having a fight with Elena, and I just wanted a day where I didn't have to put up with her crap."

Her horrible excuse for a father slams the front door closed making me jump before he asks, "So you thought it would be okay to skip school because of a childish argument?  An argument with a girl I forbid you from being friends with anyway now that she's a vampire.  Am I understanding you correctly?"

Bonnie's shaking like a leaf and she shuffles her feet again and still speaking in that small voice she tells him, "Yes Sir."

Kol hears nothing and then four large strides across the room before he then hears that unmistakable sound of flesh hitting flesh and bone cracking when Rudy smacks my precious granddaughter across her face so hard she crumples to the ground.

Kol doesn't stop to think he merely acts and is through the door in a matter of seconds.  He only vaguely hears the door crash into the wall again while Rudy's eyes open wide and he shouts when Kol grabs hold of him and uses his hand to put pressure on the violent ass' pressure point in his neck. 

My abusive ex-son in-law crumples to the floor a moment later, and Kol barely gives him a glance while he takes several deep breaths trying to calm himself, so he doesn't further frighten Bonnie, but all he can focus on is her obvious pain while she moans. 

Kol steps in front of her where she's laying on the floor crying.  Crouching, he slowly reaches out a hand towards her causing her to flinch.  "Little Bella, can you hear me?"

Her head pops up prompting her to moan again before she trains blurry eyes on his face and asks, "Kol?  How?  What?"

He sighs because he knew the moment her father hit her that he was going to have to explain himself, so he tells her, "I promise to explain later and answer any questions you have.  For now, can I convince you to drink some of my blood?"

She quickly shakes her head but whimpers mid shake because the pain in her quickly swelling cheek grows steadily when she moves.  Her father definitely broke her cheekbone, so I'm not surprised that she's in so much pain when she moves. 

Kol moves and sits on the floor and then pulls her still crying form into his arms before he says, "I heard your cheekbone crack from outside, so you are going to be in quite a bit of pain if you don't take some of my blood.  I promise to keep an eye on you until I'm sure the blood is out of your system.  _Please._ "

It's been a long time since he's begged anyone for anything, but there is no question that please is him begging the woman who holds his heart to allow him to heal her.  She nods slowly to keep the pain under control, so he bites into his wrist and then places the wound against her lips before she has a chance to change her mind.  She wraps her lips around the wound and sucks.  He allows her to take five swallows before he pulls his hand away and gently cradles her head against his chest.

While her bone stitches back together she can't stop the tears from continuing to fall, so he just softly strokes the back of her head and tells her, "Shh, Little Bella, I've got you.  You're safe."

She nods slightly, but then she stiffens in his arms and frantically asks, "Where's my dad, Kol?"

Neither Kol nor I think the abusive ass deserves my baby girl's concern, but he knows she will insist on moving if he doesn't answer her question, so he tells her, "Shh, I used a pressure point to knock him unconscious but other than that he's unharmed.  Does he normally hit you?"

She stiffens in his arms again.  She shakes her head a moment later and tells him, "No, this was the first time."

In Kol's mind I see that she's glowing red when the words leave her mouth, so even without having witnessed him hit her on a regular basis since I died, I know she's lying through her teeth and so does he.  He growls and tells her, "You forget, Little Bella, that you are not the only person who has used The Truth Spell.  I can also smell a change in your scent, and the only explanation for that must be that when I healed you many bruises all over your body healed with your cheek.  Therefore, your blood is no longer so close to the surface, so the jasmine scent of your blood isn't as strong as it was even five minutes ago."

He pauses and sighs while he lets that sink in then he asks, "How often does he hit you?"

My precious granddaughter stiffens even more before she whispers in that small, scared voice, "Um, not often?"

It kills Kol that the one creature who means more to him than almost anyone fears him hurting a man that clearly doesn't deserve her concern.  He hears the frown in his own voice when he tells her, "You're still glowing red, Bonnie.  How many times has he hit you in the last week?"

Now she's frowning when she asks, "Like instances where he hit me or the number of actual strikes?"

The usually short-tempered Kol thinks, _'Dammit that means he hits her multiple times a day probably.'_   Because it will be better if he doesn't lose that legendary temper and kill her father for harming her, he growls again and tells her, "Never mind, if you tell me either number I'm likely to break the truce.  The important part is that I now know that he hits you on a regular basis, so I'm going to wait here with you until he wakes up, and then I'm going to compel him to never touch you again.  He will never raise his hand to you in anger again."

She sighs but tells him, "You don't need to do that for—"

Is she seriously trying to talk him out of protecting her?  He interrupts her to tell her exactly how things are going to play out this morning, "You're going to let me compel him, or I'm going to kill him right now and make it look like he got into an automobile accident, so the town's people will have no clue.  The choice is yours."

She gasps at his words and grips his shirt tightly before she looks up at him and begs him, "Please, you can't kill him!  Please!"

My darling grandbaby is far too caring and compassionate for someone who hurts her daily.  Still, he sighs and kisses the top of her head before telling her, "I won't kill him _if_ you let me compel him.  Either way, though, you will be safe from now on."

She knows he's serious about her options, so she just nods, and they sit there on her floor until her father moans behind them.  Kol stands with her in his arms and moves to the couch before placing her on the cushions.  He looks her in the eyes and tells her, "You will stay here while I compel him."

She's still shaking uncontrollably, but she ignores her trembling and nods again, so he inclines his head and then stands up straight and moves so he's standing over her father. 

The jackass shifts and moans again.  When his eyes open and he's fully conscious he looks at Kol with hatred in his eyes before he hotly asks, "Who the hell are you, and what the hell are you doing in my house?"

Kol catches Rudy's muddy brown eyes and tells him, "From this moment forward you will never strike nor otherwise harm your daughter, physically or emotionally.  You will not raise your voice to her, and you will only touch her to hug her, pat her shoulder or back gently or hold her hand.  You may kiss her cheek or forehead if you choose to.  Other than those exceptions you will not touch nor harm your daughter in any way ever again.  You will support her in all of her endeavors, and you will not question her decisions."

Bonnie's eyes widen at that last part while Kol waits for her father to repeat his words back to him.  When he has Kol tells him, "When I release you, you will get up and go back to work.  You will not remember coming home this morning, your argument with Bonnie, the reason you were angry, that I have compelled you, any of the details of this compulsion, or that you've ever even met me before."

Rudy once more repeats Kol's words to him and then the original releases the abusive ass.  Rudy gets up off the ground and picks up his keys off the floor by the still open door, and then he walks out the door and by the sound of it gets into his car and drives away.

Kol knows Bonnie is about to interrogate him, so he goes into her kitchen and then returns with a chair, which he places in front of her, so he can face her while she's on the couch.  He frowns while he sits and then says, "Now, I'm sure you have questions so we will talk about that, and then if you're willing and are feeling up to it I came here to ask you to go somewhere with me."

She nods, so he smiles and tells her, "Ask your questions, Little Bella."

She frowns slightly and stops and thinks before asking, "How did you get inside the house?"

He nods and tells her honestly, "I had previously compelled an invitation into your home from your father."

Her eyes widen at that knowledge then they narrow before she asks, "How many times have you been inside my house?"

He smiles gently and tells her just as gently, "Relax, Little Bella, this is only the second time I've been inside your home.  I didn't do it to invade your space.  I did it, so I'd have access to your father, if necessary."

Scowling, my granddaughter asks, "Access for what?"

He's still smiling gently, and he leans forward and rests his elbows on his knees before he tells her, "Access to compel him if I needed to.  The man is the Mayor, and he recently began putting Vervain in the water supply.  I put an end to that behavior."

Her scowl turns into a frown, but she nods, and then they lapse into silence for a minute before she asks him, "What else have you compelled him to do?"

Despite the interrogation he's currently undergoing, he's quite pleased by her questions and the fact that despite her earlier upset she is asking every question she should be, so he smiles wider and says, "It's more what I compelled him not to do.  I made sure he wouldn't consume or wear Vervain ever again, and I told him to never invite another vampire into this house even if they try to compel him into doing so."

She's still frowning while she stares at him.  A moment later she asks, "Is that everything?"

He shrugs and says, "For the most part, yes."

Now my granddaughter is really frowning with narrowed eyes when she asks, "For the most part?"

Kol chuckles at her suspicion that he's not being straight with her because he's really not trying to evade her, so he tells her, "I don't have ulterior motives here, Little Bella.  I may have also compelled him to support whatever decisions you might make regarding non-dark magick, but other than that and making sure he wouldn't try to harm my family or me I didn't hurt him, threaten him, _or_ try to get him to do anything I thought _you_ would disapprove of."

Her muscles relax at that, and they sit in silence for a moment or two then she asks, "When did you compel him the first time?"

She's still asking every question he would if their roles were reversed so still pleased by the distinctly higher than average intelligence she's exhibiting he smiles once again and tells her, "The night we made our truce.  I knew that if he acted against us, I'd be forced to hurt him, and I was serious that first morning when I said I care about your needs and any pain you might be in.  I'd go so far as to say that if possible I would keep you from feeling any pain, ever.  The fact of the matter is, my harming or worse killing your father would have harmed you and caused you pain so I made sure my hand wouldn't be forced."

She nods slightly.  He pauses to see if she has any further questions though he's confident they covered everything that his entering her house without an invitation today revealed.  When she just sits on the couch looking at her fingers which are twisting between each other in an apparent nervous tick he says, "Now, if you don't have any further questions or object I have some questions I'd like the answers to."

She gulps but nods again without looking up at him, so he asks her, "When was the first time your father hit you?"

My baby girl's eyes widen but ever mindful of the immensely helpful truth spell she tells him, "I don't recall a time in my life when he didn't at least occasionally hit me.  It kind of comes and goes in cycles, though since I hit puberty, it's been pretty consistent."

He nods then asks, "Does anyone else hurt you, Bonnie?"

She quickly shakes her head and tells him, "No, just him."  When his eyebrow rises in question to the yellow glow he's seeing around his mate she adds, "Well, physically anyhow.  Elena has been making snide comments.  It's why I chose not to go to school today.  Um, how did you know I was home?"

Kol smiles slightly and leaning towards her again tells her, "'Bekah called and told me you weren't in school and that you hadn't answered any of her texts, so she asked me to come and check on you."

She sits up straight at that and tells him, "I didn't get any texts this morning besides one from Caroline at about 9:00 a.m., which I answered right away.  I've been here on the phone with my cousin for over an hour, so it should have beeped if I got a message."

She gets up off the couch and hurries upstairs to her room.  She grabs her phone off the bed and then runs back down the stairs.  Sitting back down in front of him, she looks at her phone before saying, "Oh, ten missed texts, including one telling me she was sending you to come and check up on me."

He smiles indulgently and asks her, "Did you put it on silent again?"

She fiddles with the phone and then nods and tells him, "Yes, I don't know why it keeps doing that.  I had the screen locked both times, so it shouldn't have gone onto silent without my actually telling it to."

He laughs and shrugs before he then says, "I'd help if I could, but you'll have to remember that I only found out about the existence of cell phones a little under two months ago.

She giggles and tells him, "I bet you probably know more about my cell phone than I do just because you're the kind of guy who studies and researches every new thing you encounter.  I think it's because of your having been on the run for a thousand years, but essentially information and knowledge, in general, are power so you learn everything you can about every new piece of information or technology you encounter.  That way if it might prove useful in keeping you and, more importantly to you, your siblings safe, you'll have the necessary information the moment you might need it."

He smiles and nods before telling her, "You know me so well already."

She shrugs so he gives her a broader and slightly cheeky smile before he asks, "So I actually arrived a few minutes before your father did so… Checking up on me, Little Bella?"

She blushes and remembering her conversation with Lucy she tells him, "It just came up.  That was Lucy, my cousin, and I was telling her all that's been going on.  She's a witch too, and Abby's, Elena's, and Stefan's judgmental glares are getting on my nerves, so I wanted a second opinion to see if I'm completely off my rocker trusting you at all."

His smile widens even more before he says honestly, "You don't need to justify your actions to me.  I'm pleased that it occurred to you to ask others about me.  That shows you're being more cautious, which other than you being safe is really the one thing I want you to be more than anything else."

He pauses again, and they lapse into silence for a minute then he asks, "So, Little Bella, if you're not sick, would you like to go somewhere with me?"

She finally smiles at him and says, "Let me just get my purse, and I'll be back."

When my grandbaby gets up and walks back up the stairs, he tells her from his seat, "Just bring your wallet if you need it and wear sneakers."

She's trembling again but not from fear this time, so she nods and goes and puts on her sneakers.  She's wondering where he's going to be taking her. 

Meanwhile, Kol is sitting in the living room hoping her renewed trembling doesn't indicate that she's nervous about going to some mystery place with him.  He's hopeful based on their previous time together that she's not nervous around him at all. 

She's really not nervous either.  She knows he won't harm her, especially after he just rescued her from her father. 

When she gets back down to the living room, he's returned the kitchen chair to its usual place, and he's sitting on the couch.  He stands as soon as she reaches the foot of the stairs and walks to her before putting his hand in the small of her back and leading her out the front door while she puts her wallet and keys in the back pocket of her pleasantly tight jeans.  When they're outside, he smiles and asks her, "In my arms or on my back, Little Bella?"

She laughs and stops and thinks for a minute before asking, "If I'm on your back and I start to slide off, will you be able to catch me?"

He chuckles but also nods and tells her, "Yes, however, my hands will be holding your thighs, so you shouldn't be able to slide off.  If you feel yourself growing tired, just tell me to stop, and we'll switch positions."

She nods so he turns his back to her, which I know she's not dense enough not to realize the significance of that action before he says, "Hop on, Little Bella."

She pushes away the sudden ball of nerves in her stomach and shuffles her feet for a minute then she walks up behind him before she hops onto his back with her legs wrapping around his waist while her arms go up around his neck.  His hands are holding her thighs just as he promised they would be.  Turning his head a bit, he tells her, "Hold on," and then they're running through the streets at vampire speed. 

Kol takes her to the falls, and they spend a good long hour just talking, mostly about his history.  She studiously avoids the topic of her father.  Instead, she asks about the witches he's taught.  He tells her all about most of the more famous ones, though, he does gloss over Chalina and her sister, so he's sure she knows that Lucy was right, and Mikael killed the other witch and that it's a sore spot for him. 

Bonnie spends that whole hour smiling like a crazy person, and I know it's because she loves hearing the members of his family tell her interesting stories about their various travels through the years, even the gory parts.  She thinks she should be horrified by the bloody parts, but really, I know she just finds it all so fascinating, and honestly, she knows they're not acting that way now, and ultimately _that's_ what counts most.  I think she also appreciates that The Original Family isn't sugar coating who they've been in the past and are being completely honest with her, so she overlooks the gory parts and focuses instead on the historical and funny, interesting, or entertaining parts.

After about an hour of sitting on the edge of the little lake at the bottom of the falls, Kol stands up and brushes the dirt off his pants before he smiles and tells Bonnie, "Okay, Little Bella, I had an ulterior motive for bringing you here."

She tenses at his words until he chuckles and says, "Relax, Darling, it's nothing bad, not for you at least.  Parts of it may be very painful for me, though.  The last time I tried to teach a witch these abilities 'Bekah got upset and wound up tackling the witch and breaking her arm.  The witch didn't want to drink my blood for fear she'd die with it in her system.  We didn't know back then that The Cleansing Ritual would return a vampire's magick to them, so she wasn't willing to risk turning.  Given the lack of medical knowledge back then her refusal to allow me to heal her was a big deal."

My granddaughter has no clue what abilities he's talking about, but she does what he says when he tells her, "Okay, stand up, Little Bella."

He smiles what I assume is meant to be a reassuring smile before he says, "Okay, so not all dark spells create dark results and every dark spell except The Immortality Spell, and resurrection spells have non-dark counterparts.  Now, I know the night of your premonition you froze us all using Expression, but that's dark magick.  Therefore, the first thing I'm going to teach you is how to freeze someone, so they can't move, but you're going to do it without your having to use dark magick to accomplish the effect.  As I'm sure you realize, if they can't move, then they can't hurt you unless they have magick but using the Expression spell to do it is too dangerous."

She nods so he smiles deeper and says, "Repeat after me, 'Spermatophyta.'"

Ever curious her eyebrows furrow before she asks, "What's it mean?"

Kol's smile widens before he tells her, "It's Latin for 'Freeze.'"

My grandbaby smiles and repeats the word, "Spermatophyta."

Nodding he says, "Say it a couple of times and get used to it because the spell I'm about to teach you won't work if you mess up the pronunciation in the heat of the moment."

Shrugging she nods again and repeats it about ten times before he smiles even wider and says, "Very good.  Now every day when you wake up, and before you go to bed I want you to say that word two dozen times like you just did, okay, Darling?"

She frowns and asks, "Why are you so serious.  I mean I get that I need to say it right, but saying it twenty-four times twice every day seems like a bit much?"

He frowns and says, "One of my former students would probably disagree.  I was lax in teaching her the correct pronunciation, and it got her killed because she got so nervous when a vampire came at her that she messed up the pronunciation, and it gave the arse more than enough time to snap her neck, killing her instantly.  I hunted him down and killed him shortly after that, but my friend was still permanently dead so never let it be said that I don't learn from my previous failures.  Therefore, because I gave my word to help protect you, I need you to say 'Spermatophyta' two dozen times twice a day or even more than that if you're so inclined.  I want it to just roll off your tongue without you having to give it any thought to pronounce it correctly."

She just nods with wide hazel eyes and repeats it ten more times because his reason is a damn good one.  When she finishes, he smiles and then says, "Okay, good, now to release someone you've frozen you would say 'Te solvo.'  In battle, you're unlikely to need it, but if you ever need to freeze one of your friends or your mother if they lose control, you'll know how to unfreeze them once you’ve dosed them with Vervain and restrained them.  Today, though, you're going to need it so that I'm not stuck frozen for the rest of eternity."

She repeats the new phrase over and over about fifteen times before he smiles and says, "It would be best for you to do the same exercise with that phrase every morning and night as well, though I know it's much easier to say."

She nods so he smiles and says, "Excellent Darling, now to freeze someone in place you need to focus on the person and say the word 'Spermatophyta' with the intent of freezing them in place.  When you go to release me say 'Te solvo' with the intent to release me from your binding.  The intent with both is particularly important because that's what gives the spell the power to freeze or release your opponent.  Your witch powers will recognize the word and what you want it to do because of that intent, and it will freeze or release the person so that they can't or can move a muscle.  Now spread your feet about shoulder width apart and then say 'Spermatophyta' with the intent to freeze me and we'll see if it works just yet.  If it does wait a few seconds, then do the second phrase to release me."

Bonnie thinks, _'Um, wow.  He trusts me enough to let me make him so vulnerable?  I mean just a few weeks ago we were fierce enemies, and now he's letting me make him unable to protect himself against me?'_ The teen looks at him and then silently adds, _'And with a smile on his face, no less?'_

Nodding, though, despite the ball of nerves forming in her stomach she spreads her feet about an inch wider then she says, "Spermatophyta," with intent and he just stands there.  She waits a few seconds then asks, "Um, did it work?"

My grandbaby thinks it must have because he doesn't say or do anything, but she can see laughter in his eyes all the same, so she tells him, "Te solvo."

When the last syllable crosses her lips, he stumbles and then laughs and says, "Well that was a resounding success.  I've never actually worked with any witch that had as much power as you do and the effect both times was so instantaneous that one millisecond I could move and the next I couldn't and the same with the reversal spell.  One moment I couldn't move a muscle and then suddenly, I was tripping over my own feet.  Well done, Darling.  Now, do it again."

And she spends the next hour freezing and unfreezing Kol.  They try it with him running towards her or trying to grab her at vampire speed, and she manages to freeze him before he touches her every time.  He even stops and has conversations with her and then tries sneak attacks and every time she manages to avoid him getting close enough to touch her. 

Smiling after the last time, he then says, "I'm certain you could do it in the heat of battle, so now for the painful part.  I want you to give me consecutive aneurysms just like you've done to vampires in the past.  However, I want you to do it once just the way you always did and then I want you to try to make it less severe."

Bonnie is frowning before she asks, "Um, if the point is to incapacitate my opponent then why would I want to lessen it?"  She pauses, but when he frowns slightly, she then tells him, "I'm not asking to be difficult.  I really want to know your reasoning because I'm beginning to realize that you always have a reason for what you say or do, and usually it's a damn good one."

He laughs and wearing a big smile he says, "Well at least you have a good reason for questioning me.  That's good.  I wasn't frowning at you but rather trying to psyche myself up for what's to come, so I wish for you to always ask for clarification if you have a question or wonder why I'm having you do it one way or another.  Now to answer your question, if you were to do it the way you always have to someone like Damon or Stefan, the fact that you now have significantly more power would probably kill them instantly and very permanently.  Now, the good news is although it will hurt me tremendously it won't kill me because only a White Oak Stake can accomplish that.  So, do it the way you always have, and then you can practice trying to make it less lethal."

Her hazel eyes widen at his words before she thinks, _'It would kill them?'_   She doesn't doubt him, but now her stomach really knots at the thought of causing Kol enough pain that an ordinary vampire would fall over dead.

He smiles a reassuring smile and says, "Don't worry.  I promise you that you cannot kill me okay, so take a few deep breaths and when you're ready unleash your power."

She's trembling, but she nods and looking at her feet so that she's not staring at her future victim, who has quickly become a good friend, she takes about six deep breaths and releases each one slowly.  Then she looks at Kol and does what he told her to, unleashing her power.  He cries out and then faster than she can see he's in a crumpled heap on the ground. 

I still consider him my friend, so I look to my left and smile before telling him, "Perhaps you should have warned her first."

He frowns when my granddaughter releases the power as quickly as she can and rushes over to him, "Kol, oh my God, I'm so sorry.  Are you okay?"  When he doesn't respond, she reaches out and rolls him over.  There is blood coming out of his eyes, nose, and ears and he's completely motionless, "God Kol, please wake up, please.  I'm sorry, please wake up, please."

He frowns gently and nods before saying, "You're correct.  That was a miscalculation on my part."

I smile and tell him honestly, "She'll forgive you.  If you would, please tell her I love her, and I'm proud of her.  She's back on the right track.  And you Mr. Mikaelson need to know that I will find a way to hurt you if you hurt my grandbaby.  Otherwise, you have my blessing."

He smiles big and says, "Thank you, Sheila.  I'll do my best to protect her even from myself, if necessary."

Finn, who showed up around the time the pair began practicing Bonnie's ability to freeze her opponents, steps closer to Kol and engulfs him in a hug and says, "Brother, I am so sorry."

Kol shakes his head and says, "It’s me who is sorry.  I should have recalled what she had done and known you weren't acting of your own accord.  Forgive me?"

Finn just nods and whispers, "Always and Forever, Brother."

Kol nods back and squeezes his brother tightly while he says back, "Always and Forever, Finn."

Finn just nods and pulls away from his brother at the same time my baby girl reaches out her hand and strokes Kol's blood covered cheek.  Barely a minute has passed since he collapsed but tears have been streaming down her cheeks from the moment she rolled him over and got no response. 

A moment later, Kol tells me, "I'll look after her."  Then he vanishes from beside us, and Bonnie jumps back from his prone form when his back bows and his eyes pop open.

Kol gasps for breath that I know damn well he doesn't actually need, and then he relaxes back onto the ground and reaches up caressing my granddaughter's cheek and wiping her tears away, before he frowns and says, "Shh, Little Bella, don't cry.  This is why we're practicing, so you don't kill anyone you don't intend to kill, okay?  I should have warned you that I might lose consciousness, but it didn't occur to me that the effect would be quite as powerful as it actually was."

Sitting up, he then pulls her into his arms and smooths his hand down her hair and back while he says, "Shh, I'm okay.  I'm okay, and so are you.  Now you see why we need to do this, okay?"

She shakes her head and adamantly tells him, "Nuh-huh, I'm not doing that to you again.  I hurt you worse than I've ever hurt anyone."

My baby girl can hear the frown in his voice even though her face is crushed into his chest when he says, "How would you feel if we don't practice and without thinking you were to do that to Damon, or Stefan, or _your mother_.  They would not survive like I did.”

She just sniffles in response, so he says, “You're not a killer by nature, Bonnie, and I know what just happened has frightened you, but I need you to be the brave, courageous woman who marched into the Gilbert's house and took charge of a dangerous situation without stopping to consult your emotions.  You were frightened then too.  I could smell it, but you didn't let it stop you from doing what needed doing.  I need you to harness that same mentality and overcome your fear, so we can practice this and prevent a terrible tragedy."

She tries to pull away from him, but when he doesn't let go, she tells him with some heat in her voice, "You have blood coming out of your eyes, nose, and ears, Kol.  How can you ask me to do that to you over and over?  I wouldn't even want to do that to an enemy never mind an actual friend, which in case you've missed it you're the latter not the former."

Smiling ever so slightly so as not to incite her further ire he pulls her even tighter into his chest and kisses the top of her head before telling her, "And that is why you must do it again.  You need to be able to protect yourself and others, and I know you will never forgive yourself if you accidentally kill someone, so we need you to practice on someone who can't die."

He pauses, then adds, "And I'm sorry to tell you, but the names on that very short list all qualify as your friends at this point.  So, I'm going to have to insist that you do it over and over, as you put it until you can control how deadly it is as well as just how painful it is.  As I said, you can't kill me, and you're a fast learner, and you now have motivation in spades to learn this skill as quickly as possible.  So, we'll sit here for a minute until you've calmed yourself because you won't be able to control it while you're upset, and then we'll try again."

Frowning and sniffling she tells him, "Annoying, know-it-all vampire that you are you are once again right, but I don't have to like it, and I want you to know that seeing you so lifeless like that was the scariest thing that's ever happened to me."

He pulls her face from his chest and brushes her cheek with his hand before he tells her, "I know, Darling, and I wish I had realized ahead of time that it would happen so I could warn you.   I think the real scare was not having any warning of what would happen, so I want you to stand back up and then go back to your place over there, and I'll stand back up, and this time you'll know if something is wrong if it happens differently than it just did, okay?"

My granddaughter reluctantly nods but tells him, "Okay, but I want it on the record that I'm doing this under duress.  If I had my way, we would never do this again."

Kol chuckles and kisses her forehead before telling her, "So noted, Little Bella."

Reluctantly my baby girl stands up and then slowly walks over to her spot before wiping angrily at her tears that just won't stop falling.

It takes Kol a little longer than usual to stand back up.  He walks to the edge of the lake and bends down splashing water on his face effectively rinsing off the blood before he walks back over to his spot much slower than usual, and when he's looking at her from a few feet away again he smiles and says, "Now, focus on releasing less power.  In fact, try to release as little power as you can and still hurt me, and we'll try to work our way up instead of down, if possible, okay?"

She wipes at her tears again and then begs him, "Please don't make me do this, Kol, _please_."

It can't be helped.  He's right.  She needs to learn to control the ability, so even though he frowns he says, "I'm not making you do the same thing, okay?  This time you're actively trying to use as little power as you can, okay?"

She really doesn't want to do this, but she realizes that he has a point about how she'll feel if she accidentally kills someone she doesn't intend to kill, and he's also right that she has too many vulnerable people in her life.  Most of them are young vampires too, so there's nothing to say they won't lose control at some point and need to be stopped in their tracks, but she certainly doesn't want to kill them permanently, so she sucks it up and releases as little power as she can.  Kol still drops to his knees and cries out.

Just when she's about to pull the power back, he says through gritted teeth, "I'm okay.  Don't stop.  Actively try to use less power.  You can do it, Little Bella.  I know you can.  Keep trying.  I'm okay."

Resisting the urge to stop the power entirely, she instead focuses on trying to use less power.  It doesn't seem to work, so she tries visualizing it only hurting the ancient vampire but not killing him, and she jumps when he lets out a deep breath and says through slightly less tightly gritted teeth, "There you go, Darling, whatever you just did reduced the pain slightly.  Keep doing it.  You can do this.  I know you can.  You're a Bennett witch.  You're descended from a long line of the most powerful witches to ever walk the earth.  You have the ability to control your power.  _You_ control _it_ , _not_ the other way around."

My precious girl pictures the power flowing through a little hole in a piece of wood, so Kol smiles and says, "That's it, Darling.  I still think this would kill anyone who is not a member of my family, but it's far less painful, and look, I'm not losing consciousness."

She giggles, but the distraction has him crying out in pain again, so she focuses back on forcing the power through an even tinier hole.  And so, it goes for almost three hours before he manages to rise to his feet despite the pain and tells her, "Good, now we need to work on you not losing control of it if you lose focus."

She stops the power completely, which causes him to frown and ask, "Why did you stop?"

My baby girl's lip betrays her and trembles before she tells him in a small voice, "I think I need to stop for today."  His eyes narrow, and she's sure he's about to argue, so she hurries and tells him "I'll try again tomorrow if you want me too, but I need to stop right now, please."

He walks to her and marvels at the fact that she has managed to mean so much to him in such a brief period of time.  When he reaches her, he pulls her into his arms, "Okay, Little Bella.  You're correct.  You've spent just under three hours doing this, and I shouldn't push you so hard, especially given what happened earlier today _and_ the fact that you're already doing something you don't want to do.  Do you feel tired physically or just emotionally?"

She pauses and reflects, taking stock of her body and then frowning tells him, "I don't feel physically tired at all.  I could probably do this for hours, maybe days and still be fine, but emotionally…"

He hugs her tighter and kisses the top of her head again before he tells her, "Okay, well you made definite progress today.  Now, I want us to do this every day, and before you object think about your other loved ones.  We have no way of knowing if something you or someone else is going to do or say will set them off and require you to physically stop them in their tracks without killing them.  Therefore, the sooner you get it completely under control, the safer it'll be for everyone involved, okay?"

She reluctantly agrees and nods even though she hates that she had to cause him so much pain.  Kol picks her up in his arms and then begins walking through the quickly darkening woods at a human pace before he asks, "Are you up for going to The Grill or do you just want to go home?"

While my grandbaby snuggles closer into his chest she tells him, "I don't want to be alone after what we just did, please, don't make me, please."

He stops walking and lowers her feet before taking her cheeks into his hands and looking her right in the eyes when he says, "I won't make you be alone, Darling.  I hope you know I'm not making you do anything for my own enjoyment, but rather to protect you, even from yourself."

She nods while another tear travels down her cheek.  Wiping it away with his thumb, he then asks, "How about we go back to my house, and I'll cook you something?"

She bobs her head before he sweeps her back up into his arms and then runs at vampire speed out of the woods.  A minute or two later he slows down, and she realizes they're in the Mikaelson's backyard, their _vast_ backyard.

Kol lowers her to her feet when they reach the house just before Niklaus comes to the door and asks, "What's wrong?  Why have you been crying?"

My granddaughter shrinks in on herself before he gentles his tone and asks, "Luv, what happened?"

Inside he's calculating who he's going to be killing for harming his first real friend since 1921, but she just shakes her head. 

He looks at Kol who tells him, "We were practicing giving me aneurysms without making me lose consciousness so that she doesn't accidentally kill one of her friends or her mother if she's forced to protect herself or others from them."

He nods but asks the two people standing before him, "I take it you lost consciousness often?"

Kol shakes his head, "No, only the first time, but I didn't realize just how powerful she is, so I didn't warn her that I'd probably lose consciousness."

Niklaus frowns but says, "Oh, okay, well I made chicken and vegetables.  There is enough for both of you as well." 

Looking at Bonnie who is heavily leaning on Kol, Niklaus tells her, "If you've been doing magick all afternoon then you need to refuel, especially because I know the kind of taskmaster my brother is.  The fact that you'll likely be doing more of the same tomorrow, and for the foreseeable future, means you need to keep your strength up as much as possible."

My grandbaby just nods, too emotionally drained to even form words, so Kol puts his hand in the small of her back and leads her into the house.


	10. Letting Go

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**Author's Note:** So, I had a dream wherein Bonnie was decorating a Christmas tree and singing the Christmas Carol she sings in this story, and when I woke up, I wrote parts of this chapter.

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**Chapter 010**

**Letting Go**

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**Monday, December 13, 2010, 4:35 p.m.**

**The Mikaelson Mansion**

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Bonnie is quiet during dinner, far more than usual, but Kol explains to Rebekah and Elijah that they spent the day with her intentionally giving him aneurysms so that she can learn to control her power and prevent her from accidentally killing someone she might not mean to kill.  The siblings fill in the silence talking about the upcoming holiday.  When they finish eating dinner, they all head into the den where Niklaus set up a huge Christmas tree earlier in the day. 

Rebekah walks to the couch that has shopping bags covering it and tells Bonnie, "I bought everything we might need."

My grandbaby seems to come back to life when Rebekah begins taking boxes of ornaments out of the bags.  Bonnie helps her take everything out.  Then she takes the white lights Rebekah hands her and walks to the tree before telling the Mikaelsons, "Okay, I need a tall person because this needs to go all the way around from top to bottom and there is no way I'll be able to reach the top."

Niklaus surprises her by flashing over to her and picking her up by her legs so that she is now much taller.  Her arms swing out while she tries to steady herself before she reaches down and swats his head and tells him, "A little warning would be good next time, Nik."

He just grins unrepentant and chuckles before he moves them closer to the tree so that she can wrap the lights around the upper half of the tree.

When they finish the top, Elijah wraps the lights around the bottom of the tree before Rebekah tells them, "Here I'll hand you the garland, and you can do that, too."

Bonnie nods, and they repeat their motions while they wrap the silver garland around the tree.

She breathes out a sigh when Niklaus puts her back on the ground after all the garland is up.  Rebekah opens the first box of ornaments and hands one to Bonnie before Rebekah sighs herself and tells my granddaughter, "I wish we still had the ones we had while living in New Orleans.  They were blown glass and the prettiest, but I'm not sure what happened to everything we left behind.  I know we still own the house but who knows what the state of everything is."

Bonnie nods before Niklaus frowns and tells them, "I believe Marcellus is living in the Abattoir currently."

Kol already knew that, in fact, he's the one who told his brother, but Rebekah stops mid-motion and turns to look at her older brother before asking, "He-he survived?  I thought…?"

Niklaus nods and ever mindful that she has stood by his side most of his life he tells her, "He did, and he took over my city.  I haven't decided yet if I'm going to let him continue to pose as King of the City or if I'm going to go back to the city we built and take my crown back from that ungrateful brat.  For now, I'm letting things remain the way they are because we have all the time in the world to take our city back."

Kol is hoping they'll return to New Orleans sooner rather than later because he has it on good authority from the descendants of his witch friends that Marcellus has enslaved them and kills any who dare do magick without his prior consent. 

First, Kol needs to win Bonnie's heart, though.  He wouldn't dream of leaving here until the two are bound for all of eternity.  He has been working on a spell he started writing in 1701 that should allow them to be together forever without Bonnie needing to transition.  Once he has her by his side for the rest of eternity, they will travel to New Orleans, and he will avenge his friends that Marcellus has unjustly killed.

Rebekah just nods at Niklaus and then picks up an ornament and walks to the tree before hanging the little red globe.

My granddaughter smiles and grabs another ornament before she tells Kol, "Start putting ornaments on the tree, Kol.  It's more fun if we all participate."

He smiles despite his realization that he is love-whipped and nods, so he takes one of the ornaments she hands to him and places it in the middle of the tree. 

She frowns slightly and shakes her head before saying, "The tall people should only put them up on the top so that I can place them on the rest of the tree."

Bonnie smiles when Kol nods and places another ornament, higher up this time.  My baby girl grumbles, "I really hate being short, but most of the women in my family, except Abby, have had that affliction."

He laughs and tells her, "Well, being tall definitely has its advantages, but we always get stuck putting everything up on the top… the top of the tree, the top shelf, always the higher things."

Giggling she then asks, "So tell me a Christmas story.  Maybe one you all spent together."

He frowns and thinks, _'Did we spend many Christmases together?  Really we celebrated Yule until the Church converted enough people and Christmas became the acceptable December holiday.'_  

Still, he smiles and tells her, "We spent more Yules together than Christmases, but I think my favorite was Spain, 1701.  Or 1698 through 1701.  I almost forgot during those years that Mikael was after us and wanted us dead.  Of course, that all came crashing down around me when he showed up in April of 1702, but Christmas 1701 was fabulous.  I converted to Christianity in 1698, and my siblings followed suit the next year, so we celebrated Christmas together in 1699, 1700, and 1701, and I thought life couldn't get any better than it was.  I was right for the most part, and everything after that was pretty awful, but my friends and I gathered in each of their homes just about every day leading up to the Holidays, and we would decorate trees much like we're doing now."

Rebekah nods and tells Bonnie, "That's actually where the ornaments we had in New Orleans came from.  We managed to bring most of our belongings with us onto the ship when we fled Mikael, so they came with us, and we used them every year we spent in New Orleans as a way of paying respect to those we lost."

Kol is frowning when a lovely caramel skinned face flashes in his mind, and a sharp pain stabs through his heart.  After all these years, he still misses her.  Even with his heart now belonging to my granddaughter part of it will always belong to Chalina, and he's not sure he'll ever truly get over the loss of her. 

My precious and intuitive girl bumps his hip and tells him, "Hey, no sad thoughts.  Whoever you're missing wouldn’t want you to wallow in your pain.  Or at least they wouldn't if they loved you.  They would want you to remember them fondly but to still live the life they can no longer live."

He nods and smiles gently before he tells her, "Wise words from one so young."

She smiles before giving him a hug.  He breathes in her jasmine scent and has to physically keep himself from tensing when he realizes that he was correct earlier.  When he fed her his blood this morning, it healed not just her cheek but who knows how many bruises that were littering her body because her jasmine scent is no longer anywhere near as strong as it was even yesterday. 

Kol struggles to reign in his usually short temper and angrily thinks, _'That bastard has been hitting her probably every day, and I didn't even realize something was wrong.'_ He pauses and breathes her scent in more deeply and then continues his thought, _'Don't even get me started on her other friends either.  How could they, who have known her for her whole life, not know?'_  

He forces a smile onto his face when she pulls away from him.  He knew early on that she is excellent at hiding what she is feeling and what her needs are, but he honestly didn't realize the full scope of that ability to hide what's happening to her while everyone else is looking the other way.

Kol doesn't know if he should be proud of her for withstanding her father's abuse and not buckling under Rudy's horrible care or if he should be angry that she hasn't asked for help.  Either way, he knows it's not her fault, and if he wants to keep her father alive, it's best that Niklaus and Rebekah not find out what my ex-son-in-law has been doing to my grandbaby, so he can't ask her if she ever told anyone while his siblings are anywhere nearby.

This time it's his sister who bumps his shoulder and softly tells him, "Whatever has you angry can be dealt with later.  Right now, we need to be happy because although Caroline and Bonnie decorated both of their houses together on Saturday, I know that Elena excluded Bonnie when the group decorated both the Gilbert's house and the boarding house yesterday.  Apparently, Elena vetoed Caroline's and Jeremy's votes that they include her, so smile and be happy so that my new sister can have the Merry Christmas she deserves."

Kol frowns for a quick moment at the cruelty of Bonnie's other friends, but then he forces himself to smile and then relaxes into the smile when Bonnie begins singing.

 

O Christmas tree, O Christmas tree.

How lovely are thy branches?

O Christmas tree, O Christmas tree.

How lovely are thy branches?

Your boughs so green in summertime.

Stay bravely green in wintertime.

O Tannenbaum, O Christmas tree.

How lovely are thy branches…

 

Rebekah hurries out of the room and then returns a moment later with her laptop, which she opens and fiddles with for a minute before 'O Christmas Tree' begins playing.

Both girls begin singing along, and they all decorate the tree together.

 

…Let us all remember.

In our gift giving and our merriment.

With our family and friends and loved ones.

The real and true meaning of Christmas.

The birth of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.

O Tannenbaum, O Tannenbaum.

How lovely are, are thy branches.

O Tannenbaum, O Tannenbaum.

How lovely are, how lovely are thy branches.

The pillars all please faithfully.

Our trust in God unchangingly.

O Tannenbaum, O Tannenbaum.

How love, lovely are thy branches.

On Comet, on Cupid, on Donder and Blitzen.  Ha ha ha ha.

 

When the song ends, Kol asks Bonnie, "So what about you?  Do you have any family traditions or fond memories you want to share?"

She smiles, and while White Christmas plays in the background, she tells them, "Well, I would sleep over at Grams' house on Christmas Eve, and we'd stay up late watching Christmas movies.  Then I'd wake up in the late morning, and we'd open gifts before I'd go over to Elena's house.  All my friends would be there, and we'd open gifts from each other.  I didn't get to watch the old movies last year because Grams was dead, and her loss was just still too fresh, so I just wasn't feeling up to it.  This year I plan to camp out on my couch and watch all of them, though."

Rebekah thankfully asks what Kol wants to ask, but he thinks they'll get a better, more favorable response, if his sister asks, "Why don't you come over here on Christmas Eve.  We can hang out in the den and watch the movies together.  One thing I know about the holidays is they should never be spent alone."

Bonnie's whole face lights up before she turns to look at Rebekah who is practically bouncing with excitement and mirroring her actions Bonnie asks, "Really, you'd watch them with me?"

All four of the Mikaelsons nod and Niklaus of all people says, "I've always enjoyed most of the films of the season, so I'd be happy to watch with you."

Rebekah bounces on her feet and claps before she asks, "Yay, what movies do you watch?  I'll make sure we have them all."

Bonnie smiles and says, "Awesome, so we always watched 'White Christmas,' 'Holiday Inn' and 'Miracle on 34th Street', but when you're getting that one get the one that was made in 1947.  The one from the 90's isn't anywhere near as good."

Rebekah just nods before Bonnie continues, "The 1964 version of 'Rudolph the Red Nose Reindeer,' 'Frosty the Snow Man,' and 'A Charlie Brown Christmas' would be cool too.  I used to watch those every year with my friends, but I wasn't invited this year." 

She's frowning at that last part before Niklaus bumps her shoulder and says, "I know our Cable T.V. has 'A Charlie Brown Christmas' On-Demand so we can watch that later tonight, and I'll see about getting the other movies before Christmas Eve so we can watch them all."

My grandbaby is smiling widely while she nods and says, "Thank you.  You know in the slow moments I keep missing my old friends, but then I remind myself that I have all of you now and Caroline and Jeremy still love me too, but I appreciate that the 1,000-plus-year-old hybrid is going to watch Christmas cartoons for me."

He laughs and tells her, "I'll have you know that I only do that sort of thing for very special people, Luv, so you should feel important."

She giggles and with a sparkle in her eyes she tells him, "Oh the mere fact that you're not trying to kill me anymore makes me feel special, so I'm already there."

They all laugh at that and continue decorating the tree while Bonnie lists all her favorite movies, specials, and music of the season.

An hour later the group stands back and smiles while they look at the completely decorated and lit tree.  It looks nice with all the red and white little balls and the twinkling white lights.

Kol and his brothers all sit down with drinks while Bonnie and Rebekah go around the downstairs placing little decorations here and there. 

When the girls finish placing decorations all around the first floor, the men all get up, and they use Niklaus' camera on a tripod to take some pictures of all of them in front of the Christmas tree.  Afterward, they all sit down in front of the T.V. and watch 'A Charlie Brown Christmas.'  It's a cute movie, but Bonnie falls asleep about halfway through. 

When the movie is over Kol turns to his sister and asks her, "Will you please call her father and ask if she can sleep over?  Make whatever excuses you think will convince him to say yes, and if necessary go find him and compel him into compliance."

Her blue eyes are wide before she places her hand on her brother's knee and says, "What aren't you telling us, Kol?"

He shakes his head.  He won't tell them what he walked in on without Bonnie's prior permission.  Rebekah frowns and asks, "Is it bad?"

He nods but tells her, "If Bonnie wants to talk about it that's fine, but I won't betray her trust.  Just know that her father is lucky he's still alive, and we'll leave it at that for the time being."

Niklaus sits up straight and says, "Fuck, that's what's different.  Her scent isn't as strong.  He hits her, and you healed her."

Despite Niklaus usually being volatile he seems calm enough, and he's not storming out the door to go kill Rudy.  Kol cautiously nods and tells his brother, "I promised I wouldn't kill him, and because I compelled him not to lay another finger on her ever again, I would appreciate it if you don't kill him either."

He nods and says, "Only because I know she'd blame herself if he died by one of our hands because he abused her.  She seemed tired today but otherwise okay?"

Kol nods slowly and tells his siblings, "When I went to check up on her at her house after Beks couldn't get in touch with her I caught her father hitting her.  I healed her broken cheek and compelled him, and then we went to the falls and worked on her magick.  I figured if I acted as though everything was fine it would make her more comfortable, and I think I was correct.  I know enough now to know that she's been covered in bruises from the first moment any of us ever met her, and she's never let on that anything was wrong.  Therefore, I think she prefers others not know anything is amiss."

He pauses and looks at her face, peaceful in sleep, and then after brushing some hair off her forehead, he tells his siblings, "If you could wait until she comes to each of you and tells you to let her know you know, I'd appreciate it.  I really didn't want to betray her confidence and only confirmed it after you guessed."

Niklaus nods but asks, "Do you think her other friends know?"

Kol shakes his head.  He actually gave this a bit of thought this afternoon, so he tells his brother, "I know for a fact that Ms. Forbes and Jeremy would have done _something_ to protect Bonnie if they knew.  They're also observant enough and interested in Bonnie and how she's doing enough that I think if it hadn't been happening since they were all little that they'd have noticed something wasn't right.  However, the rest are so damn preoccupied with Ms. Gilbert that I'd be surprised if they have any clue what's been happening right under their noses."

They all nod before Rebekah asks, "You think the bastard has been hurting her since she was a little girl?"

Kol sighs.  He thinks he shouldn’t tell them what she told him, but they'll pester him until he does so.  Therefore he nods and tells his siblings, "She said she doesn't remember a time when he didn't hit her at least some of the time."

Rebekah and the others barely react when the coffee mug she is holding in her hands cracks and shatters spilling what's left of her hot chocolate, but she does say, "He's lucky I sent you to check up on her.  I don't think I would have been able to keep from killing him, and honestly, I'm kind of surprised given your short temper that you didn't kill him yourself."

He nods and tells his family, "Honestly, if I weren't so concerned with Bonnie lying on the floor crying, I probably would have beaten him to death, but I knew she wouldn't survive the guilt if I killed him in defense of her, so I held myself in check."

Elijah nods and says, "I've noticed that young Bonnie has that sort of effect on everyone she meets.  Everyone, except Elena, would bend over backward to protect her both physically and emotionally, even from themselves."

Kol nods then looks at his sister and asks again, "Can you call him, or should I do it after I bring her upstairs?"

She bobs her head and tells him, "I'll do it, and I'll go compel him if necessary, and don't worry, I won't lay a finger on him if I have to go compel him."

Kol smiles and inclines his head at her and then he stands and bends down and picks my granddaughter up before carrying her out of the room and up the stairs to the bedroom beside Rebekah's room because he's not sure Bonnie would be comfortable sleeping in his bed with him.

I'm not sure if my grandbaby would be comfortable with that either, so the spare bedroom is a wise choice on Kol's part.  He lays her down on the bed and takes off her sneakers before pulling the covers up over her.  Turning off the light, he then moves and sits in one of the leather chairs in the corner to wait for her to wake up, so she doesn't wake up alone in a strange room.

A few hours later her heart rate increases and so does her breathing before she gasps and then sits up breathing heavily.  She reaches over and turns on the light a moment later because the room is pitch dark.  When the light comes on she jumps in place and brings her hand up to her chest, "Jeez Louise, Kol, don't do that."

He smirks and chuckles from his seat in the corner of the room and then gets up and goes and sits on the edge of the bed, "I'm sorry, Darling, I didn't want to wake you.  I didn't want to leave you alone in a room you've never seen before either, though, especially after what we did this afternoon."

My baby girl just nods obviously still not wanting to talk about it.  She looks over at the clock on the side table, and her eyes widen before she tells him, "Please tell me someone called and warned my dad that I was going to be late.  He'll kill me if—"

He frowns before he interrupts her with a growl and then says, "He won't lay a finger on you."

Gentling his tone, he smiles slightly before he adds, "'Bekah called your father and introduced herself and told him that you fell asleep watching a movie.  She asked if it was okay for you to sleep here tonight because you had seemed so tired.  She added that she didn't want to wake me, who drove you here earlier today, either because I was tired too, and she didn't want to risk us getting into an accident because I hadn't had enough sleep before getting behind the wheel of an automobile.  She worded it as a question, so he called her very responsible and told her that she was correct to worry and to tell you that he'll see you when he gets home from work tomorrow."

He pauses then adds, "I think he was quite taken with my baby sister.  Anyway, now that you know what room you're in, I'll leave you to go back to sleep, okay, Darling?"

Her hand shoots out when he begins to rise, and she grabs hold of his arm and asks in a small voice, "Please stay.  You-you can lay in the bed with me if you want, but I don't want to be alone.  I, uh, I woke up because I was having a nightmare, and I don't want to be alone, _please_."

His hands come up and wipe her tears from her cheeks before he toes off his shoes and then swings his legs up onto the bed and pulls her into his arms while he lays down with a satisfied smirk.  He kisses the top of her head and asks, "Who am I to refuse the invitation of a beautiful woman to spend the night with her in her bed?"

My precious girl giggles, which he had hoped she would and snuggles into his side before he kisses the top of her head again and whispers, "I'm sorry you are so upset by what happened today, but I really do feel it's necessary or a terrible accident will occur, not _may_ occur but _will_ _definitely_ occur.  I'd feel worse if I didn't help you train so you can prevent that tragedy.  The good news is now you know how to do it without causing me to lose consciousness, so it should only get easier from here on out."

She nods before he reaches over and turns off the light.  She closes her eyes and so does he before he tells her, "I didn't tell you earlier because I didn't want to alarm you but when I was unconscious I saw your grandmother."

Bonnie sits up and leans over him turning the light back on before her lips tremble, and she says, "But if you saw her that means I actually killed you!"

He sits up too and wipes the tears from her cheeks again before he nods and tells her, "Yes, which is why I didn't tell you earlier because I thought it would frighten you too much.  Now you know how to do it without killing me, so I felt it wouldn't be so frightening.  She asked me to tell you that she loves you and she's proud of you and that you're on the right track again."

My baby girl's tears speed up before she asks, "She-she really said she's proud of me, even after everything I did?"

Kol pulls her into his arms and strokes her hair and back before telling her, "Yes and she's proud of you with good cause.  I know you made a mistake and touched the dark, but you've learned from that mistake and haven't repeated it.  I can't emphasize enough that out of the 14 witches I've been friends with who touched the dark only you and two others didn't immediately go back to it and get themselves killed.  Ordinarily, it's too tempting, and the witch goes back to it.  You didn't do that, though.  You vowed to yourself that you wouldn't touch it again and you haven't.  She’s not misplacing her pride, and for the record, Rebekah and I are proud of you too, actually so is Elijah and Nik as well.  You've done a remarkable thing, Bonnie, and I think you don't give yourself nearly enough credit."

My baby girl who was my world while I was alive just nods then she asks, "Did she say anything else?"

Kol chuckles and tells her, "Yes, apparently despite being a ghost if I hurt you, she will find a way to hurt me back."

Bonnie giggles and says, "That's such a Grams thing to say.  I miss her so much."

He smiles and tells her, "I think I mentioned once before that I knew her just after she died before my siblings and I were revived.  She is a good woman and a dear friend.  Dear enough that I didn't kill you in the hallway of your school because I didn't want to hurt someone important to her even if she was already dead."

My grandbaby frowns and asks, "Your love for Grams is what made you hesitate?  I always wondered, but I never would have guessed she was the reason."

Even if he hasn't admitted it to himself yet, he is in love with my granddaughter, so he laughs and says, "Well, she was."  He pauses then adds, "I should thank you.  I got the opportunity to hug Finn and apologize for not realizing what Esther had done to him."

She pulls away and looks him in the eyes, "Really?"

He nods so she smiles and hugs him and says, "I'm glad then, even if I am going to do everything in my power not to kill you again."

He laughs and then kisses her forehead before laying them back down and reaching over to turn off the light again.  Before they know it, she falls back to sleep safely tucked into his arms for the night, and he follows suit soon after.

**______________________________________________________________________________**

**Friday, December 24, 2010, 2:00 p.m.**

**The Mikaelson Mansion**

**______________________________________________________________________________**

Today is Christmas Eve.  Rebekah told Kol the other day that there will be no making my granddaughter practice her magick today or tomorrow.  If she wants to do a spell, that's fine.  However, there will be no causing Kol torturous pain for hours on end because Bonnie is a bit frayed around the edges of late. 

Rebekah knows it's because Bonnie is developing feelings for Kol, and he's making Bonnie hurt him.  And while all three of them understand that it's for the greater good to prevent a tragedy, the fact of the matter is, Rebekah correctly thinks Bonnie has issues doing that sort of thing to her enemies never mind someone she calls a friend.  As I said, Rebekah also thinks my grandbaby is developing romantic feelings for Kol, and so naturally, her instincts tell her to protect him not to cause him immeasurable pain.

Rebekah bounces on her toes while she looks through the stack of DVDs Niklaus and she acquired after their conversation with Bonnie about Christmas movies. 

Honestly, she's loving having a girlfriend, and my grandbaby has, in a few short weeks, already earned herself the undying loyalty and devotion of all the Mikaelson children, living _and_ dead, for that matter.  Therefore, Rebekah desperately wants to make Bonnie smile and be happy and merry this Christmas season. 

To help make that happen, she might have done something that if it works out the way she intends, Bonnie will have a fantastic Christmas and if it doesn't work out, then my grandbaby need never even know that she tried to do it for her.

The doorbell rings and based on the noises she is hearing Rebekah thinks her master plan may have worked out despite Elena's best efforts.  Okay, Elena really didn't stand a chance because Rebekah went and compelled Damon to invite Elena to stay over at his house today, tomorrow, and the next day. 

Then she may have compelled the bratty girl to agree to stay over and Stefan she compelled to go on vacation.  She didn't specify where to, but he is not in town this weekend. 

That left Caroline and Jeremy.  Rebekah didn't compel either of them.  Instead, she visited the two of them and told the teens that she wanted to surround Bonnie with friends who love her this holiday season.  Jeremy at first thought his sister would put a kink in their plans, but, as I said, Rebekah took care of that before she introduced the idea to him or Caroline.  Rebekah was sure Elena's inherent selfishness meant she would leave her brother alone for the holidays.

So, the younger, and in every original's mind, better Gilbert is free, and Caroline quickly agreed to tell all their friends that she's going to spend the holiday with Bill's boyfriend because it's the first Christmas after her father died.

Rebekah smiles brightly when she opens the door to find the two teens standing on her front step.  Caroline has her hands full with her overnight bag and one for Jeremy and three shopping bags full of wrapped presents.  Honestly, Rebekah is impressed that Caroline managed to get it all to the front door in one trip without falling or dropping everything.

Jeremy is smiling despite him not having any arms.  His smile widens when Rebekah tells them, "Welcome, thank you so much for agreeing to help me out."

He nods and says, "Bonnie's been keeping us informed about her time with all of you, so we know you haven't done anything shady, and really my sister's behavior towards her supposed best friend is sketchy at best.  I mean Bonnie saved us all, and you'd think she personally rammed a stake through my ungrateful sister's heart.  Don't get me wrong, I wanted Elena to be human again just as badly as she did, but not at the expense of everyone we love."

He smiles and tells her, "Anyway, after you left the other day, Caroline and I talked.  We agree that Bonnie needs to be surrounded by people who love her and despite how wary I am of you and your family I'm slowly coming to admit that we may have all been wrong about you guys from the start, so here we are."

He tilts his head slightly and then asks, "Any idea what time Bonnie is expected to show up?"

Rebekah laughs and nods at his words before she takes two of the bags from Caroline's hands and leads them into the house while she tells him, "I told her between 2:30 and 3:00 p.m., so we have about half an hour.  I'm sure you know as well as I do that Bonnie always shows up on the earlier side of a time window."

They both nod while they walk up the stairs, and Jeremy tells Rebekah, "That's because she doesn't want to miss anything.  As much as Care here loves to gossip Bon loves to know everything, too, she just doesn't share what she knows with the entire world."

Caroline pouts but says, "Hey, I might resemble that remark."

Both Caroline and Rebekah break out into giggles while Rebekah nods and shows the teens to two rooms right next to each other and tells them, "Caroline, if you want you can get settled, I'll help Jeremy."

She looks at him, and he looks back at her for a minute before nodding, so Caroline goes into the room, and Jeremy follows Rebekah into the next room.  Smiling, Rebekah ignores the thought that Jeremy is _'Super cute’ and_ instead tells him, "Bonnie's slept over three times in the last two weeks, and she always uses the room on the other side of this room, so your room is between hers and Caroline's if you need any help during the night.  Incidentally, my room is on the other side of Bonnie's room, so I should hear you if you need help, too.  Oh, and Kol and Elijah have promised to help you with guy stuff because we decided to forgo the use of your nurses this weekend, so if you need to use the bathroom or want to change clothes or anything else of that nature just let either of my brothers know."

She pauses then adds, "Nik said he'll help too if you feel comfortable with that, but he told me to inform you that he won't be offended if you choose to stick with Kol or Elijah."

He bobs his head and laughs, "Yeah I don't know how comfortable I'll be with The Big Bad Wolf helping me pee."

She smiles and nods while she empties his bag into the drawers in the closet.  She hangs his shirts and then his pants and then she turns and tells him, "There, all done."

He smiles and tells the vampire, "Thanks."  Then he smiles wider and lowers his voice before he leans towards her and asks, "Can we go chill with Caroline now?"

Rebekah nods again and leads him out of the room.  Caroline meets them in the hallway, and Rebekah says, "Let's go down to the den.  We can hang out there until Bonnie gets here."

They nod and go down the stairs.  When they get into the Den, they all stand around looking at each other before Caroline laughs and says, "Yeah this isn't awkward or anything."

Jeremy laughs too and then flops down onto one of the couches as much as an armless boy can flop without falling over.

Caroline sits next to him, and when Rebekah sits, too, Caroline frowns then asks her, "Uh, can I ask a question?  It's sort of a vampire question, and I figure if anyone's likely to know the answer it would be someone in your family."

Rebekah smiles gently and tells Caroline, whom she's hoping will become a second girlfriend to her, "Ask me whatever you want.  If I don't want to answer, I'll let you know, but if it's not a too private personal history question or something that would break a confidence, then I can't imagine my refusing to answer."

Caroline smiles a little and says, "Okay, thanks, so uh, I've noticed recently that Bonnie's scent has changed.  Like it's not as strong as it used to be.  Is that a bad thing or do you know what would cause it?  Is she sick?"

Rebekah sighs but nods and says, "I know what caused it, and it's not a bad thing.  It's actually an excellent thing, but I'm not sure if I should answer why exactly her scent has changed."

Caroline frowns again and says, "I knew it.  It's got to be bruises.  Who was hurting Bonnie?"

Jeremy frowns and turns sad eyes on her before asking, "What makes you think someone was hurting her?"

The ordinarily bubbly Caroline shrugs and says, "How else would her scent change unless her blood isn't as close to the surface anymore.  That could only happen if she were covered in bruises before and now she's not." 

Caroline looks at Rebekah hard for a minute then she smiles gently and says, "I won't ask you to betray Bonnie's confidence, but I do need reassurances that she's not in danger anymore."

Rebekah nods and says, "Thank you, and for the record, I don't think Bonnie has ever been as safe as she currently is.  I do promise, however, to let you both know if that changes."

They nod, and Caroline pats Rebekah's hand and says, "Thank you, Rebekah."

She just nods and smiles before Caroline picks up the stack of movies from the table and flips through them showing each cover to Jeremy.  They both laugh a moment later, and he tells the curious Rebekah, "You even got 'Frosty's Winter Wonderland' and the 1966 version of 'How the Grinch Stole Christmas.'  How the heck does a vampire who's been daggered for the last 90 years even know what Christmas movies are never mind which ones are the best?"

Rebekah laughs and tells Jeremy, whom she is slowly getting a crush on, "Bonnie told me most of those titles when she was telling me about her fond Christmas memories.  I figure we'll watch the cartoons this afternoon and tonight.  Then we can watch the others tomorrow after we open gifts."

The two teens nod and then the doorbell rings, so Rebekah tells them, "Be right back," before she hops up and hurries to the door.  When she opens it, she smiles at my granddaughter who has her arms full of an overnight bag and two bags full of wrapped gifts.  Taking the gifts from her Rebekah leads her into the house while Bonnie smiles and says, "I know I'm kind of early, but I couldn't wait to start watching movies, so I hope you don't mind."

Rebekah shakes her head and tells her, "You know I don't mind spending extra time with you, Bonnie.  Let's bring your bag upstairs and then we'll bring the gifts into the den."

My grandbaby nods so Rebekah places the presents on the floor by the door and then leads her upstairs.  After quickly unpacking Bonnie's things the two girls then head back down the stairs.  Rebekah picks up the bags of gifts and then leads Bonnie into the den where my grandbaby stops in her tracks a few steps into the room.  I smile when Bonnie's eyes widen, and she asks her friends, "What, Care, Jer, I thought you guys were busy?  What are you doing here?"

Jeremy smiles and tells her, "We _are_ busy this weekend.  Busy hanging out with _you_ and the Mikaelsons."

The very full and incredibly bright smile Bonnie flashes all of them before she rushes to give her friends hugs makes Rebekah think that all her hard work was definitely worth the effort.

Kol arrives home shortly after my granddaughter shows up and hurries upstairs to deposit his treasure where she can't see it.  When he is sure no one will find it before he gives it to her tomorrow, he heads downstairs where he and Bonnie, Caroline, Jeremy, and Rebekah all watch several movies.

When Frosty's Winter Wonderland finishes, Rebekah stands and asks, "I'm thirsty and hungry.  Anyone else want some snacks?"

Jeremy laughs and says, "So long as I'm not on the menu, sure."

The three girls giggle at that before Kol turns to Jeremy and says, "We already stocked up on blood bags, so we're good on that front.  Elijah wanted to make sure we had enough to last until after the holiday because the hospital will be less populated for a few days, so we'd be more conspicuous trying to deplete their blood stores."

Jeremy turns and looks at him and says, "Seriously, you guys actually have to worry about that sort of thing?  Can't you just look into their eyes and make them forget?"

Kol laughs again and asks, "Are you advocating compulsion, Jer?"

He chuckles and tells him, "Not at all, I just figured with your abilities you'd have no problem with that sort of thing.  Damon brags about how easy it is to compel anyone to do anything he wants them to do.  I think my sister has been compelling people too despite how against it she mostly was when she was human."

Kol frowns and tells him, "First, I would appreciate it if you compare my family members or me to Damon Salvatore as little as possible.  The mere idea we might have anything in common makes my skin itch.”

Jeremy chuckles but nods so Kol tells him, “Second, my family and I prefer to use our natural knack for persuasion without using compulsion whenever possible.  Mikael had a nasty habit of compelling anyone he pleased, so we intentionally set out to do the opposite of him.”

He pauses but then says, “Although we know from his practices that repeated and frequent compulsions don't harm the human, if you make the human do too many things they wouldn't ordinarily do often enough it will prompt others to start asking questions.  Mikael would just respond by compelling the whole village, but honestly, that's rather bothersome and entirely unnecessary if you use the ability judiciously."

All of the teens' eyes are wide open before Jeremy nods and says, "Oh okay.  I didn't mean anything by it.  I just figured it'd make life easier."

Kol smiles and says, "Don't worry, Mate, I know you didn't mean anything by it.  I just figured I should set you straight now, so you wouldn't be misinformed any longer.  And I was serious.  Compare us to the Salvatores as little as possible because honestly, the mere fact that we're the same species bothers me enough to make me cranky."

Jeremy laughs while Kol and Rebekah keep straight faces before Jeremy nods to himself and then tells Kol, "I can totally see how that would do that.  I mean Damon's okay I guess if you look past the facts that he killed my first girlfriend, compelled me to forget the whole thing, killed _me_ , and then compelled me to leave town.  Other than that, he's awesome… not."

Kol laughs and tells him, "Then we're agreed.  The Salvatores are unsavory, and we are the creme de la creme."

Bonnie giggles then too and says, "I think we need to feed Kol if he's talking in food metaphors."

They all get up and head into the kitchen where they find Niklaus sitting drinking a cup of coffee and reading a book. 

Jeremy decides to take a leap of faith and asks, "That anyone I know?"

Niklaus looks up surprised but then grins and says, "Not unless you're on a first name basis with some coffee beans."

Jeremy smiles back, and chuckling says, "Ooh Coffee, tell me there's more where that came from!"

Niklaus points to the coffee pot which is full of enough coffee to feed all the teens and his siblings a cup each.  He smiles and says, "Whoever drinks the last make another pot, otherwise enjoy."

Jeremy walks over to the pot and leans in taking a whiff before he says, "Hmm.  Bon, would you—"

She smiles and tells her friend, "Yeah sure," before pouring him and herself cups and then leading him over to the stools.  She takes a sip of her own coffee then holds his cup to his lips and lets him have a sip.

Jeremy frowns after he swallows and says, "Don't ever take for granted your mobility and independence.  I did, and now I wish I had been more grateful for what I had at the time."

Niklaus frowns and surprises Jeremy by asking, "Kol, is there any way to give him back his arms without allowing the tattoo to continue growing?"

Jeremy's eyes are wide when Kol nods and says, "I'm working on finding a safe way to do it.  It won't be ready until the next full moon at the earliest, though.  Just hang in there Jer, and I hope I'll be able to come up with a non-dark way to let Bonnie give you back your arms before Valentine's Day."

Jeremy bounces on his seat and says, "That's way more than I deserve from you, but thank you."

Kol just nods before Bonnie leans over and kisses his cheek.  He smiles and takes a sip of his coffee but doesn't comment.

Niklaus puts down his book a moment later and says, "Little Witch, I have something for you."

He gets up and goes into the pantry before coming back with a plate of something.  He walks to her and then stops before pulling the kitchen towel off the plate with a flourish and extending the dish towards her.

My baby girl looks at the platter and then her whole face lights up, "You made me snickerdoodles?"

He nods and tells her, "Yes.  I may have gotten Caroline to tell me your favorite holiday snack and then help me get the recipe your grandmother always used."

She leans up and kisses his scruffy cheek before swiping a cookie off the plate and taking a bite.  She moans and then says, "God, that's so good.  Just like Grams always made.  Thank you, Nik.  You rock!"

He smiles and puts the plate on the counter before returning to his seat and picking his book back up.  He smiles into the pages while he begins reading again.

A moment later Jeremy softly interrupts him, "Um, do you enjoy cooking?"

Niklaus nods and puts his book back down, "Usually yes.  Especially now that Bonnie has taken to teaching us how to cook modern food."

Jeremy smiles and says, "Cool, FYI, Caroline and Bonnie both favor Cheese Tortellini in Pesto sauce with pine nuts mixed in when they're having a bad day.  They always keep a package of each in the fridge just in case.  The directions for the tortellini are on the package of pasta, and then you just mix the sauce and the nuts in with the hot pasta, and then you serve it hot, or you can put it in the fridge during the summer and serve it cold, too.  It's probably the only non-homemade food they like besides pizza, but I don't know a single teen alive who doesn't love pizza so…"

Niklaus' eyes are wide, but he nods and says, "Thank you, Mate.  I'll have to keep that in mind."

Jeremy smiles and tells the older man, "No problem.  I figure Bonnie and Caroline both dig you, so you can't be all bad.  Plus, I'm making a habit now of forming my own opinions outside of my sister's.  I also check her facts now, too, before coming to an opinion."

Niklaus nods and says, "Given what I know of your sister that is probably a wise decision."

Jeremy frowns and says, "You honestly have no idea."

Niklaus inclines his head and says, "No probably not.  However, as a man with two older brothers, two younger brothers, and a younger sister I think I do understand how annoying siblings can be at times.  They're family, though, and we put up with them no matter what because we love them, and they love us back, despite our, in my case, many flaws."

Jeremy frowns but slides his chair closer to Niklaus' and then lowers his voice and says, "See that's just it, I'm not sure my sister loves me.  She barely acknowledges me at this point, and when she does, it's usually to yell at me for having screwed up her one chance at becoming human again."

Niklaus nods but tells him, "It can take some people years before they come to grips with their change.  I personally took to it fairly well.  Kol, on the other hand, had a short temper that became significantly worse with the bloodlust, so he had a harder time coming to terms with what he is now.  I've known some baby vampires who took decades or sometimes centuries to get over their own death.”

Jeremy leans closer to him, so Niklaus continues, “Of course, your sister is overlooking one critical fact about all the others that have come before her.”

Jeremy raises an eyebrow, so Niklaus nods once and says, “Except for my family and me and the Salvatores, most people who transition don't get to keep any of their family.  They are presumed dead and forced to leave for a time only to return to their home decades or centuries later to reminisce about what they lost.  Why do you think Damon and Stefan keep coming back here?  Hell, why do you think my family came back?"

Jeremy frowns but asks, "Didn't you come back for Elena, and the rest followed, sort of?"

Niklaus nods and says, "Yes, that's what brought us back initially.  Now ask what keeps us from leaving?"

Jeremy frowns deeper but asks, "Okay, I'll bite, what keeps you from leaving?"

Niklaus turns and looks him in the eyes and says, "The friends and family we have here help us remember what it's like to feel human.  While we will never be human again, we can occasionally _feel_ human.  Bonnie and Caroline give that to my family and me, that sense of warmth that we haven't felt in centuries.  Some of us haven't felt it in over a millennium, but now we do.  We're loathed to miss out on it while it's available because while Caroline will be around a couple hundred years from now, Bonnie might not be, though her chances are better because she's a witch and not human.  Still, we won't pass up the opportunity to feel human while we can.  It's too rare and precious."

Jeremy sits back on his stool and just nods while thinking over everything Niklaus just said.  A minute later he smiles and then leans down and slurps his coffee out of his mug while it sits in front of him.

Bonnie smiles and lifts the cup and helps him drink.  When they've all finished their coffee and cookies, they head back to the den to watch 'How the Grinch Stole Christmas.'

When Bonnie walks towards the door, she calls over her shoulder, "You should join us Nik, instead of skulking in the kitchen.  Be happy and merry with us."

He laughs and nods before pouring himself more coffee and then following everyone into the den to watch the movie.

When the movie is over Bonnie stretches and then looks around the room and says, "Do us girls and Jeremy want to do girl, plus Jeremy, talk before we head to bed?"  She giggles and then says, "I guess we should call it teen talk, huh?"

Everyone laughs before Kol tells her, "I'm invited, right?  Technically, I was still 19 when I was turned so I should count."

Caroline laughs and tells Bonnie, "Keep in mind that you and Jer are the only ones here who won't be able to hear our conversation from three floors away."

Bonnie pouts for a minute before smiling and saying, "Then let's do it in here, and everyone can join in."  She pauses and then raising her voice ever so slightly adds, "That includes you too, Elijah, mister I'll sneak into the house while everyone is preoccupied and not say hello like a proper gentleman.  Honestly, I'm shocked you'd stoop so low, Mr. Mikaelson."

He laughs when he comes to the door carrying gifts and tells her, "Forgive me, Bonnie.  I had gifts that needed to be wrapped, so I thought I'd wait to come and say hello until after I had finished that."

She smiles and pauses before her smile widens, and she says, "You're forgiven."

He nods and then comes into the room, and after placing his gifts under the tree, he sits in one of the armchairs before asking, "So what are we talking about?"

Bonnie shrugs and says, "I don't know I just feel like I haven't connected with Caroline and Jer in so long."

Jeremy leans against her, and Caroline gets up and squeezes between Bonnie and Kol much to Kol's displeasure.  He frowns and playfully asks, "Oy, woman, what _are_ you doing?"

Caroline giggles and says, "Huggin' on my bestie."

She pauses then she clears her throat and squeezes Bonnie gently before she says, "Um, I have a question for Bonnie.  I asked Rebekah what I thought was a vampire question earlier, but she said she couldn't elaborate beyond saying it's not a bad thing so, um, Bonnie care to explain why you smell, um, less potent for lack of a better way of putting it?"

When my grandbaby frowns and looks pointedly at the Mikaelsons, Caroline squeezes her again and tells her, "I'm asking now because I figure it's not something Elena or Damon and Stefan should know about.  No matter where I ask in this house everyone will hear, so I thought you'd rather know they're listening than telling us things in confidence when they will also inadvertently overhear."

Bonnie nods and then reaches behind Caroline and grabs hold of Kol's hand while still hugging her friend.  Caroline realizes the significance of that action better than my grandbaby currently does, but she says nothing and waits.

My granddaughter clears her throat and says, "Um, I had bruises, so according to Kol when they healed my scent lessened."

Caroline gently asks, "You've smelled so strong for as long as I've been a vampire, Bonnie.  Where did the bruises come from, and why were they always there?"

Bonnie squeezes Kol's hand tightly and then tells her friends, "Um, my dad, he uh, well, he would, um, well…"

Jeremy gently finishes for her, "He'd hit you."

My precious girl nods while tears fall from her eyes in little streams down her cheeks.  Caroline hugs her tighter and says, "Oh Bonnie.  You're okay now, though, right?  And somebody compelled him not to hurt you anymore, right?  Because if not I'll go do it right now."

Bonnie nods but doesn't say anything, so Kol asks, "Little Bella, would you like me to tell them what happened?"

She just nods again, so he gently explains what happened two Mondays ago.  When he's finished Bonnie, Caroline, Jeremy, and Rebekah are all crying. 

Rebekah tells them all, “Nik and I guessed the night it happened, and although Kol refused to break your confidence by giving us details, he did confirm that your dad had been hurting you, so I went and compelled your dad not to hurt you again, too.  I figure while Nik isn’t likely to dagger us again, the daggers are still a viable threat so this way if Kol is daggered and his compulsions nullified mine will still keep you safe.”

Niklaus nods and says, “I really don’t have any plans to dagger anyone, but I compelled your father, too, for the same reason.”

Elijah smiles and says, “I did as well.”

Bonnie wipes at her tears and says, “Thank you.”

They all nod and then everyone just sits there for a few minutes sniffling and reflecting on what they've just heard before Jeremy decides to break the tense silence and asks, "Hey Klaus can you come and blow my nose for me?"

Rebekah runs out of the room and returns with a box of tissues which she hands to everyone under 19 years old and then she extends the box to Niklaus and motions her head towards Jeremy who's still sniffling because he hasn't blown his nose yet.

Niklaus lets out a long-suffering sigh and then grabs the box of tissues from his sister and gets up and goes and helps Jeremy blow his nose.

Jeremy giggles when he's done and says, "Thanks, man, I needed that."

Niklaus frowns but playfully says, "Don't think about it… no really forget it ever happened because it won't be happening again."

Bonnie leans up and kisses his cheek and says, "Thanks, Nik, ya know that pile of pebbles keeps growing, pretty soon it's gonna be a mountain.  Hey, maybe I'll start calling you 'Pebbles.'"

He pouts and asks her, "Nik, Klaus, or Niklaus aren't good enough for you?"

She smiles and bumps his shoulder before she tells him, "But everybody else gets to call you those names.  Only I'll be allowed to call you Pebbles."

Jeremy laughs again and asks, "What's that make Kol, 'Bam-Bam'?"

The teens laugh and surprisingly so does Elijah.  Jeremy looks over at him and asks, "You actually understood that, Elijah?"

He nods and tells them all, "Yes, I actually have seen quite a few episodes of the Flintstones through the years."

Bonnie giggles and tells Jeremy, "That's good, but maybe we should call Elijah Bam-Bam since he knew who we were talking about."

Jeremy laughs and nods but then asks, "Then what will Kol's name be?"

My grandbaby giggles and says, "I already gave him a nickname."

Kol sighs the same time Jeremy's eyebrow shoots up, and he smiles before he asks, "Oh?  Do tell."

Bonnie explains about how Kol calls her 'Little Bella,' and why and then tells her two teenage friends, "I needed something to call Kol, so I decided that if I'm Bella and I'm hanging out with a family of Vampires, then that means they sparkle.  So, I may have maybe started calling him 'Sparkle Pants,' though I kind of forgot about it and haven't really used it all that much."

Jeremy lets out a bark of laughter and then keeps guffawing.  His laughter knows no end and Kol's frown slowly deepens.  When Jeremy looks up and sees Kol's scowl, he calms his laughter and tells him, "Don't worry, man, I'm crazy, not stupid.  I know that out of all the people on the planet Bonnie Bennett is the only person alive who could get away with calling a thousand-year-old person 'Sparkle Pants', but especially a thousand-plus-year-old person who's probably killed more people than my friends and I have all met combined.  No worries, I will _not_ be trying to call you that.  I know better."

Despite the reminder of all his victims Kol smiles and tells Jeremy, "Just so we're clear."

Jeremy smiles widely and tells him, "Oh, we're crystal."

Kol nods once before Jeremy smirks and asks, "So would it be bad to get together with the Mikaelson men and brainstorm on ways to prank Mr. Hopkins pretty much constantly to get back at him."

Bonnie giggles but tells him, "Yes, it would be bad.  He may be compelled not to h-hit me anymore, but he can still get cranky, and I'd rather not be around him when that happens."

Jeremy smiles at her and then winks at Kol and tells him, "We'll just wait until she goes to college, and then we can drive him nuts until it's time for her to come home."

Kol and Niklaus both laugh and tell him at the same time, "I'm in."

He smiles big and nods before he says to the two originals, "We'll talk later."

My baby girl puts her hands on her hips and says, "There will be no pranking my dad."

He pouts and tells her, "But he deserves it!"

My granddaughter smiles and tells him, "Maybe he does, but this is me putting my foot down."

Jeremy smiles and says, "Okay but if you change your mind you just let Kol, Klaus, and me know, and we'll cook something up, okay?"

She smiles and nods, "Deal."

Caroline has been strangely silent through the whole thing, and I can hear in her thoughts about how she wishes she had noticed something wasn't right.  She thinks, _'That's got to be why she would always change in one of the stalls for gym and Cheerleading.  How could I not notice?  She would have noticed if our roles were reversed.'_

Bonnie bumps Caroline's shoulder and tells her, "Hey, no self-doubt allowed on Christmas Eve, or hey is that clock right?  If it is, then it's Christmas Day."

She hugs Caroline again and tells her, "Merry Christmas, Care."

She hugs her back but says, "I'm sorry I didn't realize what was—"

Bonnie pulls back and puts her finger on her friend's lips and tells her, "I didn't want anyone to know, not even my bestie.  I was too ashamed."

Caroline pulls her back into a hug and tells her, "I love you, Bonnie."

Jeremy leans against Bonnie's back and says, "Hey I love you guys, too!"

Both girls turn and each kiss one of his cheeks prompting him to smile before he asks, "So are we doing the usual one gift before bed or are we forgoing that now that we're older?"

Caroline laughs and says, "I'll never be too old for a gift before bedtime."

Bonnie nods, so she gets up and then helps Jeremy up and over to the tree.  He sits down on the floor beside her with a little help.  Caroline stands and grabs Niklaus' hand pulling him over to her friends and then pulling on his arm after she sits to get him to join them.  The three remaining originals stand, and Kol asks, "I take it this part requires sitting on the floor?"

The teens all nod, so they sit, and then Bonnie starts making piles of gifts according to the names on the tags.  When she's done, she says, "We usually go from oldest to youngest or vice versa.  We did youngest first last year so we should start with the oldest this year.  Each of us should choose a gift, and then we'll open them in the order we were born in."

They all nod and Bonnie hands the piles to each person.  Kol shakes his gifts and sniffs them prompting Bonnie to giggle and ask, "Sparkle Pants, you gonna be okay with presents you can't open until after we wake up tomorrow?"

His siblings all laugh loudly at that, and Elijah tells her, "You have him pegged correctly, Bonnie."

She nods and tells Elijah, "I figured."

Kol pouts, but he tells her, "I think I can manage to wait a few hours, just don't make me have to sit through breakfast first."

They all laugh, but Elijah tells them, "Seriously, breakfast will be miserable if he hasn't been allowed to open his gifts beforehand."

Bonnie smiles and says, "So noted, presents before breakfast."

Kol nods and then puts all but one gift down and looks at Elijah and says, "Well get on with it, Brother, times a ticking."

Elijah laughs and tells them all, "If I didn't think it would be unfair to our guests I'd drag it out just to spite you."

I laugh and so does everyone else when Kol sticks his tongue out at his older brother.  Finn who has been strangely silent all night chuckles beside me and tells me, "Believe it or not, Sheila, Henrik may have seemed to favor Niklaus growing up, but he idolized Kol.  He got Kol's attitude from him, as well as his penchant for sticking out his tongue when he's displeased with someone."

The boy in question laughs and sticks his tongue out at Finn who chuckles and says, "See."

I just snicker and watch Elijah slowly begin opening his present that appears to be in a leather tube.

When Elijah begins opening his present Bonnie says, "Wait, you've got to tell us who it's from first."

Elijah, who is still wearing his impeccable suit despite it being after midnight, smiles and tells her, "This is from Rebekah."  He then slowly, oh so slowly, opens the paper without tearing it.

Kol huffs halfway through and says, "Seriously?"

Elijah just lifts his eyebrow and asks, "How long have we been together Kol?  Surely by now, you know how I open my presents."

Kol doesn't say anything and instead pouts.  After he removes the paper, Elijah opens the top of the tube and then gradually pulls a roll of paper out of it.

He then gently rolls it open and smiles at the antique map of the world.  Jeremy leans forward to see better and asks, "Exactly how old is that?"

Elijah smiles and tells him, "If I am correct, I believe it's circa 1450 or thereabouts."

Rebekah nods and says, "Yes, when I sent for my things, I found it.  I commissioned it to give to you many years ago.  I think I found what I thought was a better present for that year, so I put it away to give to you later and then with all the running from Mikael I forgot all about it.  Better late than never I suppose."

Elijah slowly and gently rolls the map back up and then stands and goes to his sister before leaning down and kissing her cheek, "Thank you, Rebekah, it's perfect and in perfect time."

She beams at him, so he returns to his spot on the floor before Niklaus smiles and asks, "Is it my turn now?"

Everyone nods so he picks up a medium sized box and shakes it a little, which causes a little bit of rattling.  He reads the tag and says, "This is from Caroline."

She smiles and says, "I actually had a little help from Jeremy, so it's sort of from both of us, but he wouldn't let me put his name on the tag."

Her helper sticks his tongue out at her and says, "It was supposed to be a secret."

Niklaus laughs and tells him, "Oh the word is out, you're my secret friend."

Jeremy and the teens laugh at that before Niklaus rips open his gift with little care for how well the paper survives.  The box is brown and unassuming, so he uses his nail to open the tape and then slides the lid off the box.  His eyes widen when they land on the high-quality art supplies.  He takes each thing out smiling wider and wider while he goes.  Then he gets to the bottom of the box and carefully pulls a small 10x12x3 box out of the bigger box.  He opens it slowly and then gently pulls a framed painting out of the box.

His eyes get large when they land on the image, and he smiles and says, "Caroline, whose work is this?  This is fabulous!"

She smiles and tells him, "The art supplies were Jer and me, but the painting is one of my favorites, and I happened to see it in a little gallery I was walking by a few weeks ago, with my friends, so I went in and bought it.  I wasn't sure if I'd give it to you anytime soon or just hide it in my closet until I hunted you down a century or two from now and _then_ give it to you.  I figure since Bonnie's doing the friend thing with all of you I will, too, so I thought it would be good to give it to you now, and the artist is Pirko Mäkelä-Haapalinna.  It's called 'On Frozen Lake.'  I love the colors and how it mostly just hints at what it is.  I kind of like paintings that don't spell it all out for you.  Anyhow, I thought of this painting when I first saw your work, and then last month I saw the picture in the gallery and bought it.  I used to have a print on my bedroom wall, but it faded and didn't look as nice anymore, so I took it down."

He smiles widely and leans over and kisses her cheek, "Thank you, Luv.  I love it."

She blushes and then smiles back before Kol interrupts by ripping open his present, which causes everyone else to laugh.

He barely pauses to open the box and then pulls out a massive tome.  Bonnie is still laughing when she tells him, "You're supposed to say who gave it to you."

He starts flipping through the pages of the grimoire and smiles boyishly before he tells her, "It's from you."

She laughs again and tells him, "Mr. Saunders, you remember me telling you about him?"

Kol looks up for a moment and then nods and says, "The bookshop keeper?"

She smiles big and nods, "Yes, so last week he called me and told me that he had this huge estate sale that looked to be mostly grimoires.  He was a longtime friend of Grams, so he never charges me what the going rate is and mostly asks me for the lowest number he knows I'll let him get away with.  Anyway, he drove the fifteen crates to my house, and I snuck them into the basement while my dad was at work." 

Grinning she tells him, "I've been reading through them most nights, but I thought you'd like that one and you'll know why when you get closer to the end."

He keeps flipping and quickly reading each spell until he comes across a drawing.  His eyes pop open wide, and he looks from the page to Bonnie and back again before flipping back to the front of the book.  When he sees who wrote the book, he closes his eyes.  A tear slips out of his eyes before Rebekah asks, "Who's it by?  What's the significance?"

Bonnie smiles and tells them all, "It was written by his student and friend, Chalina Fernández.  The woman who died was her great-great whatever niece.  Apparently, the surviving members of the family insisted that her grimoire collection had to go to Mr. Saunders and that he had a young friend that the boxes should go to.  They said that the young woman would know why when she came across a few of the books.  I think they were right because as soon as I saw that picture of Kol, I knew I had to give it to him."

She looks away from the book in his hands and up to his face.  Her eyes widen when she sees the tears pouring down his cheeks.  Getting up on her knees she crawls over to him.  Putting her hands on his cheeks, she gently wipes his tears away and asks, "Kol?  Are you okay?  Was I wrong?  Should I not have given it to you?  I just thought you'd like to have it I—"

He pulls her into a hug effectively cutting her off.  "You weren't wrong.  I promise to explain the significance, but not today, though.  Honestly, not anytime soon, but eventually, I'll explain the tremendous gift you just gave me."

Pulling away she looks into his dark chestnut eyes, "You're sure?  You're okay?"

He nods and then leans in and kisses her forehead, "I'm perfect.  Thank you, Bonnie."

She smiles and nods before she returns to her seat.  All the Mikaelsons have wide eyes and hanging jaws.  They slowly close their mouths while Bonnie tells Kol, "That's only the third book I’d made it through.  I'm on book number five, now.  Books one, two and four didn't seem to have any connection to you, but if you want, sometime you can come over and look through all the books and take whatever ones you want because I'm pretty sure I'm supposed to give Chalina's books to you."

With wide damp eyes, Kol nods and tells her, "I may very well take you up on that."

She nods back, so Rebekah picks her gift up off the floor and reads the tag, "This is from… Caroline?"

She looks at Caroline and tilts her head for a moment, so Caroline smiles and says, "I saw this on the same day trip when I found the painting.  I'm still not sure what compelled me to buy it because at the time we were definitely enemies, but I thought you'd like it.  I even considered leaving it on your doorstep and then hightailing it out of here.  But then you invited us over for Christmas, so I realized that must have been why I bought it."

Rebekah nods and opens the paper, not as slowly as Elijah, but much slower than Kol.  She takes the lid off the shirt box and then gasps at the red fabric inside.  She gently pulls the dress out, and a tear rolls down her cheek, too.  Caroline smiles and says, "I didn't see the dress you were going to wear to homecoming, but Elena described it, and so did Stefan, which can I just say was creepy.  Anyway, it's probably different, but I figured it'd be a good replacement because the first dress now has a dagger hole through the back.  Anyway, we have enough dances at school that you should be able to find one to wear it to, it's fancy enough that you could even wear it to Prom.  I kept the receipt in case I guessed your size wrong, but I'm usually pretty good about that sort of thing."

Rebekah stands and holds the dress to herself before smiling big and telling Caroline, "Thank you.  I love it."

She just grins at Rebekah before she turns to look at Bonnie who has a thin flat gift sitting in her lap.  Bonnie smiles and asks, "My turn?"  When everyone nods, she looks at the tag and says, "This one is from Kol."

She slowly opens the paper and then takes out the envelope before opening it and sliding a sheet of paper out of it.  She reads it and then laughs and says, "Custom bookshelves."

Kol smiles and tells her, "You told me the ones you have aren't designed for such heavy tomes, and you're afraid the shelves will break, and your books will get damaged when they fall, so I paid for as many cases as you need.  You could even put them in your basement and attic so that you can actually access the grimoires that are currently in boxes right now."

She gets up again and walks on her knees to kiss his cheek.  When she pulls back, she says, "Thank you, Kol.  I really was worried, so this is great."

He grins while he nods before she goes back to her seat.

Caroline smiles, but before she can open her box, Niklaus flashes out of the room and comes back with a wrapped package that is obviously a painting.  He smiles and asks her, "Luv, can I persuade you to open this one tonight?"

She smiles and nods, so he hands the 16x20 package to her.  She gently but quickly rips the paper from the painting and then just sits there staring at it with tears in her eyes.  Bonnie leans around to look and then says, "Oh, Nik, that's lovely."

Jeremy peeks and then says, "Whoa!  That's awesome."

Caroline just nods with her hand covering her mouth.  She eventually says, "Thank you Nik.  I… How did you even know about that photo?"

He smiles and tells her, "Your mother was surprisingly helpful once I promised I had no ill-intent planned."

I smile looking at the painting of Caroline and her parents.  It's based on a picture the Forbes' had taken when Caroline was about seven, four months before her father left.

He smiles gently and says, "Your mother insisted that I should paint that photograph because it was your favorite growing up and she's had to have multiple prints made over the years to replace the older ones because you used to keep it under your pillow."

Caroline nods, so Niklaus says, "Now you can hang it on the wall and see it every time you enter your room."

She gently places the precious painting onto the floor and knee-walks to him before kissing his cheek and then looking him in the eyes she tells him, "Thank you, Niklaus.  This is a gift that I will treasure through the centuries, not just because of the subject matter but also because of the artist who created it and the care and thought you put into making it."

He just nods, so she leans in and kisses his cheek again before returning to her seat.

Jeremy smiles and asks, "So who's going to help me open the second box down in that pile by my foot?"

Bonnie reaches over and grabs the box before telling everyone, "This one is from Kol," then she slowly peels the paper from the package.  She uses her nail to open the box and then begins taking out art supplies. 

Jeremy's eyes grow dark, but Kol explains himself, "I'm not rubbing your lack of arms in your face as it were, Jer.  In fact, quite the opposite.  This is a promise of sorts that as soon as I can manage it, I will figure out a way for Bonnie to give you back your arms without endangering anyone so that you can go back to doing all the things you love but can't do right now."

Jeremy's eyes are wide, but he nods and says, "Thanks.  I hope you know I'm gonna hold you to that."

Kol just smiles and says, "Good, I hope that you do.   Tuesday was The Full Moon.  I didn't finish in time, but I'm sure I can get the spell entirely written before the next full moon comes around.  If not, then definitely by February's Full Moon."

Jeremy nods and says, "Thank you, Kol.  I mean I was trying to kill you, and now you're offering to help me get my arms back.  Arms I wouldn't have lost if I had just listened to you in the first place."

Kol smiles and tells Jeremy, "Don't dwell.  What's done is done, and we'll see if Bonnie and I can't figure out how to fix the situation so that you're whole again as soon as possible."

Jeremy nods again and says, "Well, thank you all the same."

Kol inclines his head before Bonnie and Caroline both let out jaw snapping yawns.  The two girls giggle and then Bonnie says, "Well, I think I need to go to bed now, or poor Kol is going to be stuck waiting to open his other gifts until tomorrow afternoon, or this afternoon I guess, after lunch anyway."

Kol pouts and stands, holding his hand down towards my grandbaby before he tells her, "Best get you to bed then, Little Bella, because you never know what mischief I might get into if I have to wait for very long!"

She laughs and then hugs him before telling him, "Thank you for my gift.  It's perfect."

He nods and holds her tight for a moment before he lets her go and says, "Jer you want some help getting ready for bed?"

He nods, so Kol helps him stand, and then everyone heads up to their rooms.

Finn looks at me while I try to figure out who to follow and he says, "Go with Kol.  I think you might learn more about him if you watch him in his alone time tonight."

I nod then follow him up to Jeremy's room.  He helps Jeremy change his clothes and use the bathroom, bantering lightly with him to keep his mind off the fact that someone needs to help him pee.

Soon enough, though, Kol leaves him alone after helping him to bed, and then he leaves being sure to leave the door open in case Jeremy wants to exit the room in the middle of the night.

Kol walks back down the stairs and into the den where he picks up his new grimoire and flips to the title page.  Running his fingers along Chalina's name another tear trickles down his cheek.  He slowly flips through the book taking the time to trace many of the words with his finger.  When he gets to the drawing of himself he stops and just stares before whispering, "I still miss you, but I have a new love now.  I think you'd like her.  You both are a lot alike.  She's just a touch braver than you were when it comes to putting my siblings and me in our place, but other than that I think you could be soul sisters you're so alike."

I notice a ghost off to the side that I've never seen before.  She has tears in her eyes while she watches Kol talk to thin air.  A moment later she looks at me and with a heavy accent tells me, "I'm glad he's moving on.  I've been surreptitiously watching without calling attention to myself.  She's good for him.  If my father had beaten me on a daily basis, Kol would not have been able to keep himself from killing him.  The fact that he only knocked her father unconscious and then compelled him into no longer harming her is incredibly significant.  He doesn't think he's over me yet, but I see it, slowly but surely, the pain of my death is being overrun by his love for her."

She pauses while Kol silently cries.  The ghost looks back at me and continues, "The time I knew him was the happiest of my short life.  I've always been grateful that he stopped to love me.  He's such a big personality, and he noticed shy, quiet, unassuming me and quickly brought me out of my shell.  He'll be good for her and her self-esteem.  He'll cherish her, and above all else, she'll know she's cherished and loved.  Once she comes to him, she'll never doubt his feelings again."

Pausing she watches Kol for a moment and then says, "The book she gave him has the notes I made about the spell he started working on back in 1701.  He never finished because I died, and he no longer had a reason to tie a soul mate to himself.  What he never knew is that I'm not his intended mate.  I was merely the seed that planted the idea that he could love and be happy for eternity.  She is his future and his happiness.  He's been struggling with the spell, which for the record is unusual for him, but I think it's the memory of me and what I endured at Mikael's hands that make it so difficult for him to work on the spell.  That book right there will help in two ways, one it has all the notes I wrote down about the spell he needs to finish and two I wrote him a letter based on a premonition I had shortly before I died.  I basically wrote him a goodbye letter.”

She sighs and then says, “His brothers daggered him before he ever had a chance to go through my things, and then Josefina and the Mikaelsons packed everything in short order and then fled with Kol in his coffin.  The letter should give him the closure he needs to be able to fully give himself to your granddaughter."

I nod.  Chalina walks to Kol and places her ghostly hand on his shoulder while he cries into his hands, "Be at peace my love and never let her go."

She kisses his forehead and then turns and tells me, "She'll never want for love or protection.  She is already his world.  They just don't realize it yet."

Walking farther away Chalina then turns back, "You'll have an opportunity to talk to your granddaughter again after Kol finds a second set of notes that should help him with returning the hunter's arms without putting the world at risk.”

She smiles and says, “Henrik should think back on Kol's time in Haiti in the 1680's because he'll remember something from that time that should help you all.  If you could tell them both that I give my blessing and that Josefina, Alaric and I will be in touch when Esther finalizes her plans because while she is dead, she will not be satisfied until all her children are just as dead as she is.”

I let out a heavy sigh but nod, so she says, “Josefina is also keeping an eye on Mikael who has his own plans.  He remembers me, but she's just another nobody he forgot almost as soon as she fled, so she has befriended him and is trying to discover his and Esther's plans are before they become a problem for the Mikaelson Children and all they hold dear."

I just nod, so she inclines her head and says, "Freya, will help you protect them too."

She smiles and turns back to look at Kol again.  She closes her eyes for a moment and then tells me, "Help protect them, The Living World and The Otherside both will depend on them to survive.  Though they should be able to defeat the main threat in quick order with extraordinarily little effort.”

Her eyes open and she turns and looks at me, “They deserve to be happy, though, so protect them always.  I will smile upon them while they live the life I never got to live, together like they should be for all time."

Pausing again she smiles sadly before telling me, "It might, however, be best to minimize how much I'm involved, though, especially right now because Kol's wounds from my death are once again fresh, and I don't want him to pull away from Bonnie out of some misguided loyalty to me.  Tell them I give my blessing but tell them Josefina gave you all the other information."

I frown but tell her, "I won't lie, but I won't volunteer the information if you think that's best, however, if either of them asks I _will_ tell them the truth, they deserve no less."

She smiles and says, "I see where your granddaughter gets her morals from.  You did an excellent job raising her.  You are correct, though, so don't lie but please wait as long as possible to tell them of my involvement."

I nod and tell her, "That I can promise I'll do."

She smiles and then whispers, "Goodbye my love."  Then she walks away and slowly fades until I can no longer see her.

I jump when Finn and Henrik come into the room, and Henrik says, "Did I hear right?  You're going to get to talk to them?  Can you tell Nik my death was _my_ fault, not _his_?"

I smile.  Henri may technically be 1,020-years-old, but he still has the exuberance that comes with youth.  I think for a minute, and I realize Chalina gave me all the clues I need to solve this riddle of how we're going to get to talk to them, so I tell him, "I think you'll get to tell him yourself."

His smile widens, and he bounces on his toes before he asks, "Really?"

I nod and tell him, "Chalina said you need to think about Kol's time in Haiti, the 1680's I believe."

He scratches his chin and says, "I'll think about it and get back to you."

I nod and watch Kol continue to cry.  I wish there were something I could do right now to ease his pain, but I don't have the resources needed just yet.

Kol stays in the den for close to three hours, mostly crying.  Towards the end of the three hours, he begins flipping through the book again.  I look over his shoulder and smile when he opens it to the letter Chalina told me about.  His eyes widen, and he whispers, "You knew.  You knew, and you didn't warn me.  Why?"

I laugh lightly because the line right after 'Dearest Kol, if you're reading this, then I have passed on to the Otherside,' reads, 'I did not warn you because you would have gotten yourself killed.  You must live.  There is another who will win your heart, and she will be far more deserving of your love than I ever have been, and I'm not discounting how much I deserve your love, quite the opposite actually.  She will be your light in the darkness, your beauty in the ugliness of the world, your Little Bella.'

Oh wow, she really did know.  I move away from him confident that she wrote what he needs to read but also quite sure I shouldn't invade his privacy any more than I already do.  When he finishes reading, he smiles slightly and tells the air, "I will always love you, but now I have room in my heart for both of you.  You are correct, I was still holding on when I should have been letting go.  You always knew what I needed to hear.  Thank you for loving me and preparing me for Bonnie.  Good-bye, my Little Rose."

He closes the book and then stands before carrying the book up the stairs towards his room.  He pauses outside Bonnie's bedroom door.  Placing his hand on the door, he just stands there for a minute with his eyes closed.  He jumps slightly, a moment later, when Rebekah opens her bedroom door and asks, "Kol, are you okay?"

Smiling gently, he turns to look at her before saying, "I am now.  Good night, Sister."

She smiles cautiously and then tells him, "And to you as well, Brother."

He squeezes her shoulder before he walks past her and then turns down the other hallway and enters his bedroom where he shuts the door.

I turn back towards the stairs and go sit by the Christmas tree for the rest of the night contemplating everything I've learned tonight.


	11. Hard to Fathom

**______________________________________________________________________________**

**Chapter 011**

**Hard to Fathom**

**______________________________________________________________________________**

**Saturday, December 25, 2010, 11:00 p.m.**

**The Mikaelson Mansion**

**______________________________________________________________________________**

Today was Christmas.  I don't think Bonnie's holidays were particularly joyous last year with my having passed so soon before.  I also know her father broke several of my grandbaby's ribs on Christmas morning so this year would have been better if only because she was safe but more than that the Mikaelson's did their best to make sure that my baby girl felt loved and cherished the whole weekend.  Not that they don't do that on regular days too, but they made a point to give her happy holiday memories.

Kol has been taking her to the falls every day except Christmas Eve and Christmas Day for more than a week and a half before he deemed Bonnie capable of attacking vampires properly with a degree of regularity.  She thought they might be done on the 21st, because she had so much control that day, but he told her it was merely because it was the Winter Equinox and a total lunar eclipse, so her power _and_ her control were _both_ amplified that day. 

Therefore, they wound up having to keep working on it for two days after the Equinox, though, as I said, not on Christmas Eve or Christmas day itself.  Thankfully on the 23rd, she had it mostly under control, so the chances that she'll kill someone by accident are far slimmer than they were when they started working on it that first day at the Falls, and now Kol and I are both confident she can protect herself or others without accidentally killing someone.

Bonnie's friends, or specifically those other than Caroline and Jeremy, only know she's been spending her time with Kol and Rebekah, so most of her old friends are not happy with her new friendships.  I know if Kol hadn't compelled her friends into keeping the truce no matter what, that it would be just a matter of time before Elena or Stefan and maybe Tyler and/or Matt would do something stupid and break the truce.

The evening of Christmas Day and two days shy of two weeks after that first day at the falls, Bonnie and Kol are reading her family history before going to sleep.  They finally discover that every witch in our line going all the way back to Qetsiyah, the witch who made Silas immortal, were the first of their generation when the oldest of the previous generation died.  Bonnie reads that entry four times before moving on to Qetsiyah's mother so that she can know as much as possible about the woman who created the very first immortal. 

Qetsiyah's mother was the youngest when her parents died, so the line of firsts goes back about 3,775 years to Qetsiyah.  Bonnie goes to bed shortly afterward.  She finishes reading the whole book the next day, but now a few hours later she's rereading specific entries that are particularly interesting like Qetsiyah and Ayana's entries.

According to the various notes in the margins, every book going all the way back to Qetsiyah's grandmother is in the collection of grimoires my daughter and I passed down to Bonnie.  So, Monday afternoon she goes digging through boxes looking for Ayana and Qetsiyah's books while on the phone with Rebekah but gives up until the blonde suggests, "Why don't you just teleport the specific books you want to a predetermined place like your bed or the floor in front of you?"

I have to admit it's a solid idea and Bonnie and Kol agree, so Rebekah and Kol begin teaching my baby girl the basics of writing her own spells and even though they have multiple teleportation spells they write their own, or mostly _she_ writes it.  Then they give her constructive criticism and suggestions on how to improve the potency, ease of casting, and preciseness of the spell.  Thankfully this lesson goes much more smoothly than the last.

Tuesday, the day after Rebekah made her suggestion Kol deems the spell ready to try so after double checking with her mother that it's safe to perform my grandbaby goes home and does the spell and seems surprised that it works.  I never doubted it would work, but I know Bonnie had her doubts, so I laugh lightly at the picture she makes while she literally jumps up and down when the four piles of books appear on the floor in front of her. 

She calls Kol shortly after she successfully completes the spell and when he picks up, she doesn't even say hello before she tells him, "It worked Kol.  It actually worked.  I can't believe I wrote a spell from scratch, and it actually did what I wanted it to do."

I can hear the wide smile in his voice when he tells her, "Congratulations, Little Bella.  Let me know the next time you need another spell, and we'll keep working on improving your spell writing technique.  I'm proud of you, though.  Beks and I barely made any suggestions to make this spell better, so mostly you did it on your own."

She frowns and shrugs obviously thinking he is giving her more credit than she deserves, but she doesn't call him on it.  Instead, she tells him, "Well I just wanted to let you know it worked.  Now I want to check out the fifty or so books both women owned and or wrote."

I imagine he's nodding even though my precious girl can't see him before he tells her, "Please check with your mother or me before trying any of the spells you might find.  I imagine a good number of the spells in Qetsiyah's books are very Dark if the Immortality Spell is any indication of the type of magick she performed.  Bonnie smiles and tells him, "I promise not to try anything without talking it over with you first."

The next day she informs him, "I found The Immortality Spell and The Immortality Reversal Spell that turns an immortal back into a mortal in Qetsiyah's books.  Incidentally, I also found The So-Called Sun and the Moon Curse Esther placed on Nik after he activated his wolf side in Ayana's books.  I guess she disapproved of Esther shackling him just like I did, but she made sure to write down everything about the spell the bitch did.  She made note that someone was going to need it and mentioned another entry in another book that will be relevant, but I haven't found it yet, and I decided to just read through all of her books instead of skimming, so I'll be less likely to miss it when I come to it."

I'm unsure why Ayana thought someone, probably my granddaughter, would need to know the details of the curse placed on Niklaus.  I am sure, however, that our ancestor knew what she was talking about in every instance I've ever heard of, so I know it will prove true.  I think the key is the other entry and although I'm anxious for Bonnie to find the passage I know my grandbaby's plan to carefully read everything is the right one.

Kol tends to agree with me but he nods while smiling, so she shows him the spells she did find, and he reads each spell before frowning and saying, "Bonnie, I need you to swear on your grams' safety that you won't tell anyone, especially Ms. Gilbert or Damon, that you have any of these spells."

Her eyes are wide, but she nods and tells him, "I swear I won't tell.  That's not why I went looking for them.  They're the darkest spells I've ever heard of, so I figure it can be a learning experience and you can go line by line with me and explain what makes them so dark."

He smiles because she is a very eager student, so he tells her, "If you promise on the lives of all of your friends that you won't try to do any of these spells then I'll be happy to go over each one line by line."

She smiles and nods, so they set about going over each spell, and it takes them all day and most of the night to get through all three spells.  Needless to say, my grandbaby now understands The Laws of Nature a whole lot better and knows that those three spells are so dark it's not even slightly funny. 

Before going to bed, she is still reading Qetsiyah's books when she comes across another spell that she thinks is too dark to try.  When my precious girl sees Kol Thursday morning, she asks him for his opinion so after reading the spell twice he frowns and asks her, "Bonnie, why are you asking?  Do you have a need to permanently silence someone?"

She laughs and shakes her head before telling him, "No, not at all.  It just seemed too dark, so I figured I'd ask you about it, and see if you agree.  I'm trying to spot the dark spells on my own and then confirm with you and Abby that they're too dark to ever try."

He smiles widely and leans in kissing her forehead before telling her, "In that case, yes that spell is far too dark to be safely performed without upsetting the balance."

My granddaughter nods and then goes back to reading the book.

Bonnie looks up a few minutes later and hesitantly tells Kol, "Um, I think I just found the other entry Ayana wrote about in the other book.  I think I now know why Nik's aura still has a few holes.  This spell should fix it, and it doesn't look dark.  I think we should do it because we technically currently have all the ingredients necessary available in Mystic Falls and those holes in Nik's aura leave him vulnerable to attacks if a Witch is stupid enough to try to take on The Original Hybrid."

I think that because no one has ever tried to attack any of them that way despite the much larger holes in their auras that they had for the last 1,009 years that the chances are good no one will attempt it in the future either, but it would be nice to completely remove all the holes in his aura. 

Bonnie bounces in her seat and hands the book to the original, and he reads it while I read over his shoulder.  She smiles when his eyes get progressively wider while he reads farther and farther down the page.  When he finishes reading, he looks at her and asks two very vital questions, "You'd seriously be willing to do this spell?  Because it would have to be you who does it not to mention exactly how do you plan to get Ms. Gilbert's blood because she's currently giving you the silent treatment?"

She smiles and tells him something I've known for some time now, "I already have three dozen bags of her doppelgänger blood and just over a dozen bags of her vampire blood.  I also have almost three dozen bags of Tyler's blood.  All we'd need is Nik's blood, the blood of a random werewolf, which I also have stored away, and then we'd just need Nik to agree.  It should probably be done after The Full Moon which is three weeks from yesterday if I'm reading it correctly about the necessary phase of the moon."

My baby girl is definitely reading it correctly about the required phase of the moon.  Kol's eyes are wide, and his jaw is hanging open though at the idea of her having all that blood just stored away somewhere.  He just stares at her for three solid minutes.   I know because I can see the clock on the wall from my spot behind him.  He snaps his jaw closed a moment later and asks the next necessary question, "Little Bella, how do you have all of that blood?"

Smiling she tells him honestly, "Well, my friends have all been unconscious multiple times.  Every time someone was in my care it was for a long enough period to drain a bag or two out of them.  I never knew why I was doing it, but I think it's because The Universe and God knew I'd find this reversal spell.  Do you think Nik will agree to do it?"

I absolutely think he'll agree to do it and apparently so does Kol who nods and tells her, "I do.  Although I'm also sure he doesn't feel the need to make more hybrids, but it drives him starkers to no end that even if he wanted to make them he can't." 

Pausing Kol stands then walks to her and tips her chin after he kneels in front of her while she sits in her chair, and he looks right into her eyes before he asks, "You need to think extremely hard about whether or not you want to offer this spell to my brother.  Remember that _you_ owe _him_ nothing, and _he_ in fact already owes _you_."

She frowns and tilts her head to the side before she asks, "Do you want me not to offer?"  It's evident to me that if he tells her not to do it, then she won't do it, but she also thought that he'd be happy that his brother could be entirely whole for the first time in over 1,009 years. 

While that is true he doesn't want it to happen at Bonnie's expense, so he shakes his head and tells her, "I'm actually ambivalent about it for the most part.  It makes no difference to me either way, not really anyhow, but you and your friends fought very hard to keep Nik from being able to make hybrids, and now you're suggesting that you do a spell that will make it possible for him to make them without the use of doppelgänger blood.  He'll have no limitations on him anymore, so I want you to consider the ramifications of doing this spell before you suggest it to him.  Once he knows it's possible he probably won't rest until you perform it, so make sure you're ready for him to no longer be dependent on doppelgänger blood before you make the offer."

She nods and tells him, "I know he's an ass more often than not, but he deserves to be completely whole just like the rest of you.  Why should all of you be able to make vampires, but he can't make anyone like him?  I've never thought that was particularly fair, but I objected to him using Elena's blood because I figured he'd get greedy and drain my best friend of every last drop of blood she had, which isn't too far off from what he tried to do on at least one occasion."

Kol nods but then tells her, "Think on it for a few days at least and then we can talk about it if you still think it's a good idea, okay?  There is no hurry to complete this spell.  I want you to take your time and weigh all the ramifications of your possibly performing it because you're also probably not going to want to ask your mother about it, so you'll need to rely on my word alone that it's safe.  Otherwise, I'd be willing to wager my substantial estate that your mother will tell your friends and they'll storm the castle with the intent of killing us all once and for all.”

She just stares at him wide-eyed, so he tells her, “Make no mistake, Bonnie, if they attack us first we won't hesitate to end them this time.  We've been very forgiving thus far, but it won't continue if they break the truce.  They'll be dead before they can utter the word 'Oops.'"

She nods and tells him, "I know.  I'll think about it all and get back to you okay?"

He nods and tells her, "You should put that book in your bag and bring it to your house tonight and keep it there until you make your decision."

My baby girl just nods and takes the book back from him and then closes it and puts it into her book bag that's sitting on the floor beside the chair she's sitting in.

Kol stands back up and goes to the cabinet in the wall and takes out a bottle of his finest scotch and pours himself a generous portion before drinking half of it in one swallow.  Bonnie's hazel eyes widen, and when he looks up at her again she hesitantly asks, "Um, you're not mad at me are you?"

He sighs and puts his glass down on the corner of his desk and walks back over to her before he kneels in front of her again and reaches up stroking her cheek and says, "No, Little Bella, I'm not angry with you.  I'm worried that my brother will find out you have that spell and try to force you to perform it, thereby breaking the truce, but I'm not angry with _you_."

Frowning she tells him what we both already know, "If you want me to forget I have it and not offer, I'll do it.  I'll completely ignore that it's in the book and I'll lock the book up where your brother can never get to it."

He frowns back and tells her, "Without trying to influence your decision, I don't actually want my brother to be stuck the way he is forever.  I want him to be whole and able to create progeny just like himself the same as the rest of us can, but I worry what that will mean for you and your friends.  I'm not sure you realize it or not, but if you do that spell you'll be picking a side, and it won't be Elena Gilbert's side.  You'll be definitively choosing the Mikaelsons' side, so you need to consider that before you make your decision, because I know right now you're holding out hope that you'll be able to reconcile with your friends.  That likely won't be possible if you do this spell, and they find out about it, which they probably will the first time Nik turns a wolf successfully."

Nodding, my granddaughter tells him, "Jer and Caroline would probably forgive me.  Damon, Stefan, Elena, Tyler, and Matt will never forgive me, but I'm beginning to realize they're not going to forgive me for making the truce with you either, so what does it really matter?"

He nods and then leans in and kisses her forehead before he tells her, "That's why you need to think about it long and hard before you make the offer to Nik."

She nods and then picks up the other book she was planning to read today and opens it to begin reading but before she does so she asks, "Did you notice the part where if he feeds a vampire his blood after the spell is performed that the vampire will be immune to werewolf and hybrid bites _permanently_?"

He nods and stands in one smooth fluid movement, and then he moves to his own chair and sits down with his own book to begin reading himself.  He opens one of three of Chalina's books that Bonnie gave to him and then looks at her and says, "Yes I noticed that part, but we only get sick if we’re bitten.  We don’t die from it.  However, if a wolf bit us and the wrong person had a White Oak Stake at the same time, well, then that might prove fatal.  Nobody’s managed to have both at the same time thus far, so I'm more worried about what doing the spell will mean for you than what it will mean for my siblings and me."

Nodding my baby girl then begins reading, but she never turns the page, so she ends up rereading the same sentence ten times.  She's caught on the fact that Kol is more worried about her than helping his siblings be safer.  Truth is he figures they've survived this long, so he doubts the wolves will be a viable threat in the future. 

She doesn't know what his greater worry for her means precisely.  I know from Bonnie's thoughts that he's been glowing green the whole time they talked about the spell, so she knows he wasn't lying.  So that leaves her baffled about why he cares more about her and her welfare than the welfare and safety of his siblings and himself. 

She doesn't ask him for clarification though, so she remains confused before she closes her eyes and just concentrates on focusing on her breath.  A few minutes later, she opens her eyes and looks in front of her to find him watching her.

Frowning he asks, "Are you okay, Bonnie?"

She frowns back, mostly at his use of her first name because she knows him well enough by now to know that he's serious because he used her given name instead of his nickname for her.  She pauses and seriously considers his question before nodding and telling him, "Yes, I'm just confused, but I'll figure it out eventually."

Smiling, he nods and tells her honestly, "You usually do," then he goes back to reading his book, and she follows suit with much more success this time.

Almost two hours have passed, and Bonnie fidgets for the twentieth time in a minute.  She has a plan, and her window of opportunity is quickly shrinking. 

Her fidgeting causes Kol to look up from his book while he sits across from her in his study.  Marking his place in his book, he then closes it and places it on his lap before he asks her, "Little Bella, is something wrong?  You know you don't _have_ to do the spell, right?  I won't tell Nik that you found it if you choose not to do it."

Her green eyes widen at that, "N-no, that's not…  I still want to do the spell."

Smiling gently, he shakes his head slightly and asks, "Then why are you acting like you have ants in your pants?"

I laugh, and so does my grandbaby before she asks, "How on earth do you know that saying?"

He smiles bigger and tells her, "Elijah used to say something very similar to me when I was a boy, so when I heard a mother at a store comment that her son had ants in his pants I immediately understood her meaning, and it stuck in my mind."

He pauses then frowns and tells her, "Don't think I don't realize that you never answered my question.  What is bothering you, Bonnie?"

She thinks, _'Damn, he said my first name again.'_   As I thought earlier she knows him well enough by now to know that he means business, so she sighs and looks at the floor in front of him before she asks him, "What, what would you say if I asked to borrow one of your mother's books?"

His chocolate eyes widen, and his frown deepens before he says, "I need more than that, Bonnie.  Which book specifically?  And for what purpose?"

She sighs but tells him, "The one from the first day."

Leaning forward he puts his elbows on his bent knees before he asks, "The one with The Cleansing Ritual?  I wasn't aware that you had a chance to look through it beyond the spell we did."

Shaking her head, she tells her frowning companion, "Um, I didn't, not really."

He sighs again and says, "Bonnie, we've been friends for just under a month.  Have I ever offered to get angry with you when you asked for something, even if I did ultimately end up denying your request?"

She shakes her head, "Um, no, it's just… I'm not sure you'll like what I want to do with it.  I thought about doing it from memory, but I'm not confident enough in my memory so…"

Now his frown deepens, and his voice is sharp when he asks, "So if you remembered the spell you want to use better, you wouldn't bother speaking to me about this spell, you'd just do it instead?"

Frowning back, she thinks, _'Well when he says it like_ that _it sounds like a really shitty thing to do.'_   What she says though is, "I-I don't know.  I, God, it's nothing bad."

He's still frowning, but his tone of voice is less sharp and sadder when he says, "And yet you seem not to want to ask me about it.  Is it dark?"

My flustered baby girl shakes her head hard and tells him, "No, it's not the spell itself that you'll object to."

He places his book onto the floor by his chair and then stands and begins pacing back and forth, back and forth.  He stops and then still frowning asks, "So what exactly is it that you think I will object to?"

She gulps, and then she takes a big deep breath, and after letting it out slowly she tells him, "I want to do the spell on Abby."

His eyes widen before he goes back to pacing, back and forth, back and forth, "Which spell, Bonnie?"

Looking at her feet, she whispers, "The Cleansing Ritual."

He stops in his place at that and slowly turns to look at her.  She's currently nibbling on her lower lip.  He just stares for a minute or two before he blinks and says, "You wish to try to give your mother back her magick."

He doesn't pose it as a question, but she still nods and tells him, "Yes, don't be mad."

His frown deepens before he says, "I'm not angry that you want to do the spell on your mother.  I'm angry that you don't seem to trust that I'm not selfish enough to forbid you from trying to help your mother."

My near tears granddaughter whispers, "I trust you."

Kol huffs at that and takes a step closer to her, and she flinches, so he stops and says, "Do you?  I'm finding that hard to believe given that you didn't want to broach the subject with me _and_ that you just flinched when I stepped closer to you.  I'm not going to hurt you, Bonnie."

He lets out a heavy breath and takes a step back and then moves to sit again.   He just stares at her for a few minutes before asking, "What have I done to make you think that I would hurt you?"

Her eyes widen, and she shakes her head quickly before she tells him, "I don't."

Staring her right in the eye, he says, "I don't believe you, Bonnie.  Why else would you have flinched when I moved closer to you?"

His shoulders are slumped, and his eyes are soft and sad at the thought of her thinking he'd hurt her.  She resigns herself to the fact that she now needs to talk about her father again.  My precious girl knows as well as I do that the topic will just further agitate him, "Um it wasn't… I'm not… it's a conditioned response.  I'm sorry.  It wasn't you.  It was me.  I'm sorry."

He narrows his chocolate eyes, and he leans forward and puts his elbows back on his knees but holds his clasped hands in between his two knees before he asks, "You're referring to your father and his habit of hitting you, and that's why you flinched.  Is that what you're saying?"

She's trembling, and when a tear slides down her cheek, she wipes at it angrily.  Kol forces himself not to move towards her and take her into his arms.  His instincts are screaming at him to comfort his mate, but he knows he needs to wait and work out what just happened first, so he can work to keep from frightening my granddaughter again in the future. 

She wipes at yet another tear and whispers, "Please don't be mad, please.  I'm sorry.  Please."

He can't stop himself this time, so he moves to his knees and walks to her on his knees very slowly obviously gaging her reaction to him moving closer.  When she doesn't flinch, he lets out a breath and asks, "It's because I was standing over you and was angry.  That's why you flinched?"

She closes her hazel eyes, and more tears flow down her cheeks, but she still nods, "Yes." Then without opening her eyes, she tells him, "Intellectually I know that you would never even think to hit me and even deep down I know that.  I just, I couldn't stop the flinch.  I'm sorry."

He understands now, so he nods and then slowly reaches out and pulls her into his chest.  She lets him, and she takes comfort in his closeness while his strong arms that could tear her to shreds without even trying wrap around her tightly. 

He allows her to cry for a few minutes, and then he kisses the top of her head.  His voice shakes with his restrained anger when he hotly says, "If I didn't know his death would hurt you more, I'd kill him for what he's done to you!"

Still sniffling, she stiffens in his arms.  Rudy did a real number on my baby girl, so she's not used to talking about his bad behavior because he made it perfectly clear that she's not allowed to tell anyone.  And even beyond that, she doesn't want to test Kol's restraint.  The mere fact that he's usually short-tempered and impulsively violent and yet he still let her father walk away the other day after practically witnessing him hit her is amazing to her.  Not only does she intellectually know he would never hurt her but she also knows down to her marrow that in almost all instances Kol will end anyone who _does_ dare to harm her.

He gentles his voice and says, "You're safe with me, Bonnie."

Nodding her head, she tells him, "I know.  I really didn't flinch because it was you.  It was just the muscle memory I guess you could call it.  Anyway, can we stop talking about it?  I'm not supposed to talk about what he did, and I get nauseous thinking about what he would do if he found out that you know."

His arms tighten around her at that before he says, "I would never let your father or anyone else hurt you, you know that, right?  My compulsion alone should keep him from ever harming you again."

She nods her head against his chest but tells him, "I know that, but it still makes me nervous, especially when I think about what you would do to him if he found a way around your compulsion."

He smiles slightly before he tells her, "Oh ye of little faith.  I'll have you know that I've been compelling people for close to 608 years.  I am a master at it, so your father is not going to find a loophole.  However, I need you to promise me that if he does or if someone else hurts you that you will tell me immediately, so I can fix it.  Can you do that for me?"

She just nods as much as his hand on the back of her head will allow.  He thinks over the last ten minutes and realizes they are extremely far off topic.  He also understands that her reluctance to ask him about the spell wasn't indicative of her lack of trust or faith in him, but rather the conditioning her father caused with his abuse.  Her father's rash and violent reactions to her often seemingly irrelevant behavior has caused her to refrain from asking for things. 

That's one of the things that makes her an amazing woman in most cases.  She gives but doesn't expect anything in return.  However, she takes it to the extreme and fails to ask for the things she needs or really wants even when doing so wouldn't adversely affect the other person.

He decides, _'I shall have to work on changing her behavior.  While her selflessness is admirable, not asking for things is not healthy.'_   He knows that by not asking for things and honestly by being too scared to ask for things she's inadvertently hurting herself, so he promises himself that he'll slowly retrain her out of that fearful behavior.

The first step is giving her want she wants and reinforcing in her mind that he's not angry that she asked, so he pulls her face away from his chest and kisses her forehead then pulls back entirely and says, "Okay, so we got sidetracked.  In the future I want you to ask me for things.  Things you want or need and things that you want to be done for other people you care about, okay?"

Her mouth opens to argue, so he places his finger over her soft lips and despite her slight frown tells her, "Asking for things isn't a bad thing.  I know you well enough to know you won't abuse the privilege.  Now, as for the spell, I don't object to you giving your mother back her magick.  I would propose that you allow me to compel the knowledge that vampires lose their magick out of her mind so that she won't think anything of it or wonder how you knew it would work, which could lead her to wonder about my siblings and me and _our_ magick."

She figured that's what he might say if he agreed, especially after he compelled Rudy, so she nods and tells him, "Abby's easier than my dad because she already doesn't take Vervain."

He pulls back again and pretending he didn’t compel her to remain Vervain free he asks, "She knows there are vampires in town who can compel other vampires and she doesn't take Vervain?"

Shaking her head, my grandbaby tells him, "It makes her violently ill, worse than Caroline or Elena and Damon.  I mean it hurts them obviously, but it actually makes Abby throw up if she tries to eat or drink it.  She even tried just a few drops in her coffee, and she threw up everything she had eaten all day."

His's chocolate eyes are wide before he says, "I've never heard of that happening before."

She shrugs but tells him, "Right after she transitioned I watched her put three little drops in her coffee and then stir it before drinking it, and within a minute or two she ran to the bathroom and puked up her lunch."

He nods and says, "I didn't doubt you, Little Bella.  I was simply telling you that I've never heard of that happening despite my age and experience."

He drops his arm from around her and looks at his watch before he says, "It's almost 2:00 p.m.  Do you know if your mother has any plans today?"

My baby girl smiles slightly and tells him, "I'm meeting her at her house at 2:30 p.m.  I was hoping to convince you to lend me the book by then, and then we'll go to the beach."

He nods and tells her, "If you don't object, I'll accompany you and her so that I can compel her right after she does the ritual."

She grins and nods before leaning up and kissing his cheek, "Thank you, Kol.  Not just for letting me do the spell on Abby, but for uh, the thing with my dad, too."

He frowns and tilts his head to the side before asking, "The day at the beach, you wore a one piece because you had bruises underneath it, correct?"

Her hazel eyes widen before she asks, "How did you know that?"

He kisses her forehead again and tells her, "There was a bruise on your back, and I thought maybe I had put it there the previous night when I slammed you into the wall, but now I thought it might not have been me that gave it to you."

My precious baby girl nods and tells him the sad and anger-inducing truth, "Uh don't get mad, but if you gave me any bruises that night, I honestly didn't notice because my torso and my shoulders already had them.  He uh, he usually hit the same places, so I've found a bathing suit that covers most of the bruises and then if any show I just tell people who ask that I bumped into a chair or fell or something."

He's frowning before he kisses her forehead again and says, "I hate that you've had to hide his actions from the world."

She nods and hugs him tighter, but then she stiffens when he asks, "Why didn't you tell your grandmother?  Everything I know about her says she would have gotten you out of there."

Now she frowns before telling him, "He's my dad, and Abby was already gone.  Plus, he threatened Grams.  She wouldn't have cared, but he made the threats to me if I told her or anyone else, so I kept quiet."

My fists clench at that knowledge.  I suspected as much, but to hear it confirmed that that monster threatened to harm me if my baby girl asked for help makes my blood boil. 

Kol nods and then glances at his watch and says, "We should go meet your mother.  Do you think she'll be willing to run there?"

Bonnie smiles and says, "That was the plan.  She was going to hold me and run there, but now if you don't mind, I think I'd rather you do it because I'm not particularly close to Abby and her holding me makes me uncomfortable, but I wanted to do it quickly instead of needing to drive there and back.  This way the trip will take two hours round trip."

He nods and smiles slightly because while she didn't come right out and say it, she clearly implied that she is entirely comfortable with him holding her close. 

He shifts so he's standing beside her instead of in front of her and then leans down and picks up her bag, handing it to her before he puts his hand in the small of her back and begins leading her out of the room and down to the first floor.

Kol easily heard his sister having a fit during his conversation with Bonnie, so after we walk down the stairs towards the front door he pauses at the doorway to the den and asks, "'Bekah, is it safe to come into the room?"

When my granddaughter looks up at him her face clearly asks, _'Why wouldn't it be safe?'_

Rebekah says from inside the room, "It's safe for now, but I've got to clean this up before Nik gets home and asks about it."

Bonnie's hazel eyes widen when the pair walks into the room.  There is couch stuffing all over the place, and the couch is in three pieces.  The coffee table is also missing a leg and smashed to pieces.  Bonnie doesn't get to question Rebekah before she pulls her into a bear hug and tells her, "I meant to tell you the other day that I promise not to touch him either."

Bonnie's eyes widen at the realization that Rebekah heard everything.  It never occurred to her that anyone else in the house could listen to their conversation.  I don't know why it didn't.  There have been enough reminders, often enough so she should have at this point. 

She's incredibly lucky that Niklaus is not home because her flinching simply because Kol was angry and standing over her would have set him off, and none of them would have been able to stop him from killing her father. 

I can clearly see in Kol's mind that it took more than three decades before Rebekah stopped flinching from Mikael's abuse, so I'm not surprised that she tore apart the room in her anger at the same injustice happening to Bonnie.  I know each of the Mikaelsons except for Kol views Bonnie at this point as a little sister.  They would kill for her just as they would for each other and Kol, well, he's head over heels in love with her so it goes without saying that he would kill for her. 

The important thing to note however is that all four of the surviving Mikaelsons and the three on this side of The Veil with me would all stay their hand and not kill if it would make her happy and/or prevent her from experiencing emotional and mental pain.  Put simply they love her and would do anything for her even let the man who has been beating her for the last 18 years live to tell the tale.

Rebekah is obviously a little worried about her fit upsetting or scaring Bonnie, but Rebekah’s fit and the fact that she would feel such anger on her behalf actually touches my granddaughter deeply.  Bonnie just nods at her and ignoring the news about Niklaus' actions tells her, "Thank you for not hurting him.  I'm sorry about your furniture though."

Rebekah pulls back from their hug and waves her hand while she says, "Oh there's no need for _you_ to be sorry.  You didn't do a damn thing wrong.  However, I knew you'd object if I went and did this to your father, so I took my anger out on the hapless furniture instead.  Provided I get it cleaned up before Nik gets home everything will be good because he'd storm out of the room and kill your father in the blink of an eye because he's seen the kind of behavior you exhibited earlier from me back when we first fled Mikael and got away from his daily beatings.  Given how close we all are and how much we all love you the corresponding behavior would upset all of us, but Nik is particularly sensitive about that sort of thing.”

Bonnie just stares at her with wide eyes, so Rebekah nods once and says, “If you tell him I told you this, I'll steal your phone and begin texting Elena about how madly in love you are with Damon and Stefan both.”

Rebekah waits for confirmation that Bonnie won’t tell and when she nods slowly, Rebekah says, “Between you and me I've known Nik to avenge random women he didn't even know if he witnessed them suffering similar fates as us.  He does not suffer abusers lightly.  In fact, he usually kills them as slowly and painfully as he can manage, and I hope you realize how important you are to him that he hasn't already gone and killed your father.  Knowing you flinched because Kol was angry though would probably test his restraint more than might be prudent, so I'll get this cleaned up and he'll, I hope, never find out."

Bonnie's eyes are wide, and she opens her mouth to ask her why Niklaus of all people would do such a thing on her behalf, so Rebekah tells her, "He gets that way when someone he cares about is hurt, and make no mistake he cares about you, Bonnie.  Anyway, I just called, and the store down the street has already loaded the replacements onto the truck, and they should be here in about—"

Just then the doorbell rings, so she smiles and says, "Right now."

Kol leaves Bonnie in the den for a minute then speeds back to her with the book they'll need in tow.  He puts his hand back into the small of her back, and they follow his sister to the door and exit while she talks to the workmen. 

The men go into the house, and a moment later they carry the pieces of the old couch out and place them behind the truck they drove here.

Kol smiles and leans down to Bonnie's ear before he tells her, "Don't worry, Little Bella, my sister is an expert at hiding the evidence of a temper tantrum before Nik can find out and have a tantrum of his own."

She giggles when Rebekah says, "I heard that, Brother, and my tantrums are nothing compared to yours."

Bonnie can't seem to help the hysterical giggle that escapes her mouth when Rebekah continues her thought, "Mine are less messy than yours, too, because yours usually involve body parts not pieces of wood and stuffing."

As much as that statement should worry my grandbaby, she hugs Kol closer to her because his sister's comment has the opposite effect and makes her feel safe.  Kol sincerely hopes that the one thing she has never doubted since they made their truce, that flinch earlier notwithstanding, is her safety when with him or any of his siblings, even Niklaus, but especially himself. 

He needn't worry.  She knows beyond a shadow of a doubt that they would never dare harm her and she also realizes that it has very little to do with the truce and everything to do with how much they care for her.

Kol hands her his mother's book and then sweeps her up into his arms, so she asks him, "Um, my car?"

Smiling he tells her, "We're already running late, so we'll actually get there on time if I run us there.  We'll come back for your car later.  Maybe I can talk Beks into sweet talking your arse of a father into letting you stay over tonight even though you're already planning to sleep over tomorrow night.  My compulsion should make him agree pretty easily."

She giggles and tells him, "Only use the force for good, Obi-Wan Kan Obi."

He laughs and says in a perfect imitation of Yoda's voice, "May the Force be with you."

She laughs harder before he nods pleased with himself, and then he asks, "Where am I running us to?"

Smiling at his grinning face, she tells him, "104 Piedmont Ave.  Take a left at the light and then the third right."

Bonnie can't tell if Kol, whose arms she's firmly held by, is following the directions she gave him because we're moving so fast that everything rushes by in a blur, but a few moments later he slows and then walks her to my daughter's front stoop.

As much as I always wished that Abby would come back and have a relationship with my grandbaby I find that now that I know that my daughter left Bonnie with Rudy knowing full well the kind of abusive ass he is I'd prefer my baby girl have nothing to do with her mother. 

I'm contemplating ways to break the news to her when Freya, Finn, Henri and I finally get to communicate with them all again.  For the time being though I send up a prayer, "Please, God, don't let Bonnie get hurt by my daughter's selfish ways."

Kol puts her down and then follows her up the stairs to the door.  She barely knocks once before the door swings open.  Abby has a scowl on her face when she asks, "What's _he_ doing here?" 

That attitude just won't do so Kol decides that because Bonnie already knows her mother is Vervain free that compelling her to be civil might make their impending excursion less trying on both of them.  Therefore, he catches Abby's eye and tells her, "I'm coming along for the run, and you will not argue or object to that fact.  Not only that, you will remain civil the entire time we are together."

My daughter repeats the words back to him before he releases her and then he says, "We are ready when you are, Ms. Bennett-Wilson." 

He pauses then smart man that he is it occurs to him, _‘Damn, she had to know that her husband was abusive.  Not only that but the ass’ abusiveness might answer the mystery of why she left.’_

Bonnie has expressed her confusion multiple times about why her mother would just leave and then stay gone.  So, his eyes widen, and in an effort to give Bonnie answers, he asks a question that the response to may very well shatter any hope of Bonnie and her mother reconciling, but he feels Bonnie needs to know so, "Do you know what your ex-husband has been doing to your daughter?"

My baby girl turns to look at him with wide, frightened eyes, so he wraps his arm around her before her mother frowns and says, "I'm guessing you mean he hits her?"

Both of their eyes pop open wide and could easily fall out of their heads they're so wide before Bonnie asks, "A-Abby?  What?"

She frowns and shrugs, "Why do you think I stayed gone when I finished desiccating Mikael.  I realized I preferred not living in fear, so I just didn't come back.  I figured my mother would keep him from hurting you.  I came back when you told me she died because I wanted to see if he was still abusive, but I've never seen any evidence that he hurts you, so either he got better at keeping it a secret or he stopped."

Well now Kol's slight dislike of her has just multiplied exponentially.  Bonnie is frowning and wondering, _‘Do I want to bother doing the spell and help her when she couldn't bother to make sure her own daughter was safe from her abusive husband?’_

Kol senses her dilemma so he pulls her down the steps and a little down the walk to give her the illusion of privacy before he says in a hushed voice we all know Abby can hear perfectly, "The choice is yours, Little Bella.  I'll take you both to the beach if you want to do the spell and give her back her Magick, or I'll take you back to my house and convince my sister to sweet talk your father into letting you stay over."

Abby chooses that moment to butt in when she says, "I compelled him.  It was the first thing I did when I became a vampire.  I visited him and compelled him to never eat or drink Vervain.  He wears some in a bracelet on his left wrist, but only when he leaves the house, so if you remove the bracelet or get him at home he's completely compellable.  Plus, I already compelled him not to hurt her about a few days ago when I decided it was better to assume he was abusive and compel him not to be than to assume he wasn't and do nothing."

I can't help myself when I scowl.  Bonnie and Kol are both also glaring while my granddaughter tells her mother, "Don't sound so damn impressed with yourself Abby because while you've been fear-free for the last 18 years, I’ve been living in fear every day that I might do something else to piss off daddy and get smacked around.  Hell, half the time growing up I got hit because I reminded him of _you_."

Kol and I both grit our teeth at that piece of information, and he resists the overwhelming urge to go beat her father within an inch of his life.

Bonnie turns and looks at him before whispering, "Can you compel her to forget about the spell and the fact that vampires can get their Magick back and then take me back to your house.  I'll even let Beks try talking my dad into letting me sleep over."

When Bonnie looks up into her mother's wide eyes, Abby says, "Please don't, I'm sorry."

Bonnie gives her a hard look and tells her through gritted teeth, "That's far too little, far too late, _Abby_.  Make her forget that we had this conversation at all so I can keep asking her if spells are safe, because I trust her just enough to rely on her for that, but that's it.  I trust her for nothing else."

Kol nods and speeds up the steps catching Abby's eyes and telling her, "You will forget that we came here today.  You will forget that we had any conversation and you will forget everything Bonnie told you about The Cleansing Spell returning magick to vampires.  You will forget that my family and I have our magick back and you will never seek for a way to return your own magick back to you."

She repeats his words back to him and then he says, "You will always remember in vivid clarity that your husband would hit you and that you suspect that he was abusing your daughter.  You will live with the knowledge and overwhelming guilt that you left your baby girl with a monster far more dangerous than any vampire."

When she repeats the words, he tells her, "You will forget that I just compelled you or what the compulsion entailed."

My usually selfish daughter repeats those words back to him, and as soon as the last word passes her lips, he releases her and then scoops Bonnie up and runs her back the way they came.

As soon as she's sure her mother can't hear her, my baby girl bursts into tears.  Each sniffle and sob tears at both mine and Kol's hearts and honestly makes him want to beat both of her parents within an inch of their lives. 

Bonnie is their daughter, their own flesh and blood, and yet they willingly and willfully hurt her worse than anyone else ever has.  Despite the many atrocities he's committed through the years he finds it hard to fathom that a parent would harm their child in such a heartless manner, never mind that Mikael did the same thing to his own children.

When he slows down, she looks up finding that they're not at his house but at the Falls instead.  He takes her to a rock formation and then walks along the wall of rock before he pushes slightly on a spot and a door pops open.  Her eyes open wide when he enters the cave and then whispers, "Inardesco" and torches along the walls ignite.

He walks to the end of the tunnel and then tells her, "I couldn't get in here while I was a vampire until I got my magick back, but now I come down here fairly often to look at the old drawings Nik drew on the nights of The Full Moon.  I thought you might enjoy hearing the stories behind them."

She sniffles and wipes her nose on the back of her hand but nods, so he sits on the ground with her in his lap and then proceeds to spend hours telling her stories of his youth as illustrated by his extraordinarily talented older brother.


	12. No Longer Plagued

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**Chapter 012**

**No Longer Plagued**

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**Friday, December 31, 2010, 10:00 a.m.**

**The Mall**

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I chuckle when my granddaughter asks for the tenth time in as many minutes, "Tell me again why we're shopping in a crowded mall on New Year's Eve."

Rebekah and Caroline giggle at about the same time Henri, who decided to accompany me while I shadow the girls and Mikaelson men at the mall asks, "My new sister asks an excellent question.  I know the modern world is far more entertaining and honestly far easier than life was when I was human, but one thing I cannot bring myself to enjoy is the crush of people at places like the mall.  People can’t bump into me, and the sheer number of people still bothers me.  Poor Jeremy doesn't even have arms to help him keep his balance, and Kol has been keeping hold of my new younger brother's shoulder to steady him while they go from store to store.  Tell me how that's fun?"

I laugh and tell him, "It's not fun for any of us, but the payout should be!"

He turns and walks backward not even paying attention to the people he walks through while he asks me, "Oh?  Do tell?  I know Nik and Kol are tux shopping with Jer on the other side of the mall with Finn and Freya acting as silent spectators, but what exactly does my youngest blood sister and my new blonde sister have planned for my middle sister that they think will be so fabulous?"

I laugh.  He only just recently began referring to them like that, and I find it's a cute little brother kind of thing for him to do.  I'm touched that he already considers my granddaughter and her friends, well Caroline and Jeremy anyway, to be part of his family.  Finn and Freya are much the same way, and they and Henri are convinced that Rebekah has growing feelings for Jeremy.  I have to say based on her thoughts that I tend to agree.  It's still funny, though, to hear prim and proper Finn Mikaelson refer to someone as his 'newest and youngest little brother'.

I think that it would please Rebekah if she could hear her siblings discussing the newest members of their family, though.  I know it certainly pleases me and I'm just the grandmother slash surrogate grandmother to all of them. 

I have plans to mother the Mikaelsons if what I think is going to happen happens because the fact of the matter is they all deserve to have a mother figure who gives a damn about them and their wellbeing. 

Esther is a disgrace to all mothers everywhere, and I have often had to hold myself back and not go find her and beat her silly for the pain and heartache she's caused her own flesh and blood.  What she's done to Finn alone is enough to send my blood pressure through the roof. 

I might be falling for Finn, but even if I weren't, I can't abide by a mother compelling her own child and especially not to betray his siblings and kill himself and them all in one fell swoop.  She does not deserve the term mother, and I fully intend to make sure they all know that.  However, Esther has friends here, so I need to be careful and not do anything to put my granddaughter or her friends and their new family in jeopardy.

I'm brought out of that thought by Caroline and Rebekah rolling their eyes before Rebekah tells my granddaughter, "Caroline and Jeremy let slip that you've never been to any of the grander balls our town holds.  You told me yourself that Esther had you tucked away the night of _her_ ball so that you and Elena couldn't compare notes, so we thought we'd all dress up and have a mini ball for New Year's Eve.  Only our family is invited so you, Caroline, and Jer don't need to worry about disapproving stares or snide comments directed your way."

The two blondes both bump Bonnie's shoulders at the same time before Caroline tells her, "It'll be fun, Bon, plus, just think, Kol will be dressed to the nines.  I was kind of preoccupied with annoying Klaus at Esther's ball, but even I noticed that Kol cleans up surprisingly good.  Well, actually that's true of all of the Mikaelsons."

Rebekah smiles and tells her new friend, "Thanks Care.  You looked amazing in that blue dress.  I think we need to find something blue for you tonight.  I'm going to look and see if anything pops out for me otherwise I'll wear my beautiful Christmas gift, which, by the way, it fits perfectly so thank you for that."

Caroline smiles and then grabs Bonnie's hand and veers off towards the first store.

The girls spend four hours shopping, and they each find something to wear and shoes to match before they then go get their hair and make-up done at a salon in the mall.  When they are done the boys meet them by Niklaus' SUV.  Niklaus and Kol both whistle when they see _'their'_ girls all prettied up. 

Bonnie's hair is twisted and braided and piled in intricate loops on the back of her head with two antique combs helping hold it all in place and two little curls framing the sides of her face.  Kol takes my granddaughter's hand and tells her, "You look relaxed, and your hair looks lovely like that."

She blushes, and she will never admit it to anyone, _ever_ , but she chose the elaborate hair-do because of the conversation she had with Kol that first morning about how much he misses the intricate hair-dos of the past.

He smiles gently and teases her, "Let me know at the end of the evening if you need any help untangling your hair because I'm sure you remember how much fun I find from that particular past time."

She blushes even harder but smiles at his boyish grin and tells him, "I'll keep that in mind, thank you.  I was surprised at how relaxing the whole thing was.  I mean I usually enjoy getting ready for smaller events, but I wasn't sure if this would be different.  Usually, Elena and Caroline are stressing so much that I just assumed getting ready for the fancier things causes stress, but once we all had our dresses and shoes there was practically no stress involved."

Caroline laughs and tells them all, "I'm usually stressing because I've helped plan the event, so I want it to go off without a hitch.  I was forbidden from trying to plan anything today, though, so there was no stress in sight."

Niklaus smiles indulgently at her and says, "Good, you should have a night off every now and then."

She just nods, so everyone gets into the car, and they drive home.  When they arrive, they get out, and the girls stop in their tracks when they walk into the foyer.  Elijah is coming down the stairs while they stare at all the pretty little blinking fairy lights strung up over most surfaces.

Rebekah smiles widely and tells him, "Elijah this is just lovely."

He smiles back and tells her, "Thank you.  I called the same company that did Esther's ball and arranged for the house to look quite similar so that Bonnie and Jeremy can experience it for themselves."

Bonnie smiles and says, "It's beautiful Elijah, thank you."

Rebekah links arms with her two friends and tells her brothers and Jeremy, "We'll be upstairs getting into our pretties.  See you boys soon."

I follow the girls up the stairs into Rebekah's room where they hang their dress bags and flop down onto the bed together.

Bonnie just stares up at the ceiling fingering the locket she's wearing.  Caroline looks over at her and then sits up before reaching over and gently taking hold of the necklace.  She smiles while she peers closer at it then says, "That's really pretty Bonnie.  Does it have anything inside it?"

Bonnie blushes and turns her head looking away before saying, "Maybe."

Caroline laughs and asks, "Why are you blushing?  Does it have a naughty picture of Kol in it maybe?"

My grandbaby looks back at her before giggling and saying, "No, no naughty pictures of anyone.  It's got a picture of Grams and me and one of the shots we all took over Christmas.  One of the group shots.  Anyone who doesn't already know who's in it would have trouble making out the faces because I had to shrink it so much to fit, but I wanted to remember this Christmas.  The only way it could have been better is if Grams was still here."

Oh, Baby Girl.  You will see me again soon.  Trust in God, and he will provide.

Caroline nods and asks, "Can I see?"

My granddaughter smiles and sits up before opening the locket and showing Caroline and Rebekah the photos inside.  Rebekah smiles and says, "That is a lovely locket.  Did it belong to your Grams?"

Bonnie blushes again but then says softly, "No, Kol gave it to me for Christmas."

Their eyes widen before Rebekah says, "I thought he gave you bookshelves."

Bonnie giggles again and says, "Don't knock my bookcases, I went to the guy's workshop early Wednesday morning with Kol and picked out the style.  They're going to be so pretty with leaves engraved into the sides and edges, and they are super sturdy looking because they're handmade to order.  The guy who makes them said he'll use slightly thicker than normal wood to make sure they can hold the heavy books without any strain."

The two girls nod but Caroline giggles a moment later and says, "Don't think we don't notice, Bonnie Bennett, that you haven't answered the mystery of you having more than one Christmas gift from Kol.  A mystery gift no one knew about until just now."

Bonnie smiles but looks away from her and quietly says, "I knew, and that was all that mattered to me."

Rebekah smiles and says, "Aww, so when did he give it to you, and how did he present it?"

Bonnie smiles fondly and tells her, "It was lying in a little box on my pillow when I came upstairs Christmas Night.  It had a note with it, but I'm not telling you what it said because it was private."

Caroline nudges her shoulder, "Like naughty private or just…"

She laughs and asks, "Why does everyone assume that there is something naughty involved when Kol's around."

Rebekah laughs and asks Bonnie, "Have you met my brother?  Even when he's behaving, he usually finds a way to stick innuendo into his conversations."

Bonnie nods but says, "I know, but there is nothing naughty going on between Kol and me."

Caroline smiles again and tells the original, "I think we need to have a girl's only night at my house soon so we can talk to Bonnie about whether she wishes there was something naughty going on between her and Kol,.  I know Kol is listening to every word we say right now so I'll drop the subject, for now anyway."

Rebekah nods and says, "We'll make plans later."

Caroline nods before Bonnie covers her face with her hands and says, "The note was sweet.  He just said he was glad he hesitated and that he's gotten the opportunity to know me better.  He said he thought of getting Caroline to get a picture of Grams and me to put in it but then decided he'd let me choose what to put in it, and he said he looks forward to knowing me for the rest of my existence."

Rebekah frowns and asks, "When did he hesitate?"

She looks up from her hands and smiles before she says, "The night of my premonition.  He confronted me in the school hallway and said that if I were dead, they wouldn't be able to access the cure and risk raising Silas.  He boxed me in, but then he hesitated.  He told me later he hesitated because he knows Grams, or he did while he was daggered right after she died but before Elijah took the daggers out of all of you.  They were friends, and he didn't feel right harming someone his friend obviously cared about.  So, he let me fight back and escape.  He said he planned to try to keep me out of it as much as possible so he wouldn't have to harm me if he could prevent it.  Ultimately, I have Grams' love for me to thank for so much goodness in my life, including my friendships with you and your brothers."

Rebekah smiles and says, "I knew her too.  She spent most of her time watching you and your friends.  We had been watching Nik and Elijah when they first came here, so we kept running into her, and we became friends.  She loves you very much Bonnie, and I know she's immensely proud of you."

My precious girl frowns and whispers, "Maybe before the dark magick crap I got into."

Rebekah, bless her soul, grabs hold of Bonnie's hand and looks her straight in the eyes and tells her, "Even with that I know she's enormously proud of you.  You made a mistake, Bonnie.  Everyone does.  You're not unique in that sense.  What makes you unique is that you learned from your mistake instead of repeating it over and over until it got you killed.  Kol's been friends with two dozen witches who got involved in dark magick and instead of learning from the mistake they kept touching the dark until it killed them.  I may not have seen my friend in months now, but I know beyond a shadow of a doubt that Sheila forgives you for your mistake and loves you anyway, and I know she's proud of the young woman you've become.  God knows I am proud of you, and I only just met you."

Caroline nods and says, "You forgave me when I killed Carter, right?  So why would you think Grams wouldn't forgive you for touching the dark.  What I did was way worse, and you still love me."

Bonnie frowns and whispers, "But I killed Shane, and I didn't have the excuse of an out of control bloodlust.  I was cold and calculating.  I went to the jail with the intent to murder him, and then I did exactly that."

Caroline hugs Bonnie and tells her, "Lucy was right when she told you that his death saved the world.  Sometimes we must do terrible things to protect the people we love.  If you hadn't killed him everyone we love would be dead right now.  You know I've killed in self-defense or in defense of others, and that's exactly what you did.  Your grams won't think poorly of you for protecting others.  In fact, I think she'd be even more proud of you because you made a hard choice and did it even knowing you'd suffer the guilt of that decision for the rest of your life.  Most people would have balked and done the easy thing, and now the world would be destroyed if anyone other than you had had to make that decision.  We still love you, and I'm certain your grams still loves you, too."

I'll have to remember to thank Caroline for that.  Bonnie nods and wipes away a tear while Rebekah smiles gently and says, "Well said, Caroline.  I don't think I could have said that any better, but my family loves you, too, Bonnie, and God knows we've all made mistakes, but you still love us, right?  I mean Nik killed Elena's aunt, and I killed Elena, and you still love us, right?  So, we love you, too, despite whatever mistakes you have made or whatever ones you will make in the future."

They take turns hugging my granddaughter, and I can hear in her mind that they got through to her for the time being.  I'm sure they'll need to repeat themselves at least a few times more, but for now, her mind is at peace.

A few hours later my granddaughter is laughing while she dances with Kol.  Her ball gown is cut in an Edwardian style.  The fabric is a black overlay on top of a gold shimmery underdress.  The overlay has little crystals sewn onto it that adds to the illusion that she's sparkling in the light while she moves. 

Caroline squealed when she found it and told Bonnie, "It looks just like the dress Kate Winslet wore in Titanic at the dinner Jack went to.  Hers was dusty pink and maroon, but this will look even prettier on you with the gold against your skin tone."

Bonnie nodded and practically skipped into the dressing room.  I don't recall the scene, but I remember the dress and I tend to agree about the similarities. 

Rebekah's dress is another red number with a mermaid tale.  Caroline did, in fact, get a blue gown cut in a princess cut that reminds me of the gown Cinderella wore in the classic Disney movie minus the poufy shoulders as Caroline so eloquently put it when she found the dress.

Caroline and Rebekah are standing off to the side talking and sneaking peeks at Niklaus and Jeremy in their tuxes when the girls think the boys aren't looking.  The boys are doing the same thing in reverse.

Caroline's phone rings a moment later, and Rebekah looks at her and asks, "I thought I told you to leave that upstairs?"

Caroline rolls her eyes at her and repeats herself, "And I told you that my mom is going to call at midnight, so I need it with me because with her job the term midnight could mean anywhere from 10 p.m. to 2 a.m.  Now shut up because it's actually Stefan."

Rebekah tries to steal the phone, but Caroline dodges her expertly and answers the phone all in one movement, "Stefan, hey can I call you back?  I'm kind of busy tonight."

His frown is evident when he tells her, "It's important, Caroline.  Do you know where Bonnie or Jeremy are?  Elena can't find them, and we're worried."

She straightens her shoulders and snorts before she tells him, "As if any of you actually care.  They've been with me off and on since Christmas Eve, and none of you thought to call before now."

Niklaus walks up to her and whispers, "Just hang up on dear ole Stefan, Luv."

She swats at him, but the damage has been done, and he knows it while he grins unrepentantly when Stefan nearly shouts, "Is that Klaus?  Caroline, have you lost your mind?"

She frowns and tells him, "No, I haven't lost my mind, and if my other friends could remove their heads from their asses long enough to actually pretend to care that Bonnie is spending a lot of time with the Mikaelsons I wouldn't need to be here putting up with Klaus.  But as it stands most of my friends do have their heads up their butts so I'm babysitting as it were to make sure Bonnie and Jer are as safe as possible, not that _you_ actually care."

He's very obviously frowning when he asks snidely, "And what do you think you, a girl who hasn't even been a vampire for two years can do to protect them from the Mikaelsons?  We need strength in numbers, not renegade lone wolves."

She laughs loudly at that and tells the pompous ass, "Oh how you've forgotten the damage Katherine did to you and your brother with nothing but a little smile and the flip of her hair.  While I'm not about to stoop to her level and spread my legs for him, I'll have you know that I am far better at managing Klaus than Katherine ever was with you and Damon.  Now as I said, I'm busy doing damage control because you all are too self-involved to do it yourselves.  Don't call back.  I won't answer."

"Caroline think about this logically."

She smirks even though he can't see it and tells him, "Oh, I am probably the only one of us thinking about this logically.  You seem to forget that your brother fed me enough of his blood that he needed to feed twice afterward, and then your ex-sweetheart smothered me less than half an hour later.  I have wiped the floor with my sire's ass on more than one occasion because he gave me so much of his blood, so while I might only be two vampire years old I am far stronger than Damon, and I'm especially stronger than you because unlike you I feed on humans regularly.  Now I repeat, I'm hanging up, and I won't be answering any more of your calls tonight, so you'll have to wait until school on Monday to begin berating me.  Goodbye."

Then she hangs up.  She turns back to face the room and then promptly blushes when she notices all eyes on her.  Slowly Niklaus, Kol, Elijah, and Rebekah begin clapping and then Bonnie joins in.  Jeremy walks to her and tells her, "If I had arms I'd totally be clapping too.  That was awesome, and I only wish I could have seen his face when you tore him a new one."

She giggles and then walks the three steps to Niklaus and leans up to his ear and whispers, "I'm sorry for implying I'm using you for my own purposes, but it was the only way I could think of to get him to leave me alone long enough to enjoy the evening.  I'll have hell to pay for it come Monday, but you promised me three dances, and I'm planning to finagle more than three out of you, so I need not to be dealing with Stefan freaking Salvatore and his lofty opinions all night long."

He grins and laughs before he takes her hand in his and tells her, "Oh, no worries, Luv, I knew the game you were playing even before I told you to hang up.  It's why I spoke loudly enough for him to hear me and distinguish my voice from the others despite his sub-par senses."

Just then her phone rings again.  She sighs, so he takes her phone from her hand and looks at the caller ID before telling her, "It's your sire.  Would you mind terribly if I answer this one?"

Before she can steal her phone back he presses send and speaks into the phone, "Damon Salvatore, Caroline is otherwise indisposed at the moment.  Can I take a message?"

Damon's frown is evident when he says, "I don't have time for your shit Klaus.  Elena is MIA, and I have a bad feeling she's going to try something stupid.  So, if you could put the one person who stands any chance of talking Elena down on the line, I'd much appreciate it, and you and I can tussle some other night."

Niklaus loses his smile and asks, "When was she last seen?"

Damon bites out, "As if I'd tell you."

He frowns and tells Damon what he already knows, "You should know me well enough by now, Damon, to know that I won't leave Caroline's side while you talk to her, so I'm going to be hearing everything anyway, so be a good boy and just answer my bloody question."

He sighs and tells him, "I took her to the mall this afternoon to practice being around so many humans, and she happened to see her brother and two best friends playing nice with the enemy in the parking lot.  I got her out of there as fast as I could before she caused a scene but when we got home, she spent two hours screaming at me and then stormed out after screaming that I was allowing the evil originals to steal all her friends.  She's clearly not in her right mind, and I would appreciate it if you or Caroline would call me if she makes an appearance, preferably before any blood is spilled."

Niklaus frowns but tells him, "First, it's her own bloody fault because she's spent the last month pushing those who love her farther and farther away.  She has also completely overlooked the fact that no one in her life, her brother, Bonnie, and Caroline included, asked to become the creatures they are, and they don't act like spoiled brats about the unfairness of it all.  She's the only one in this town who isn't acknowledging that her plight is common for most new vampires.  I don't think I've ever met a single vampire who chose this life." 

He pauses then adds, "I take that back, Sage is the only one I know who chose this life, and she did that to be with the man she loved for all of eternity.  I've met hundreds of thousands of vampires in my long life and out of all of them only Sage chose this life.  Don't you think that says something about Elena's lack of uniqueness, and yet she acts like only she had her life stolen from her completely overlooking that young Caroline got smothered to death by a woman who wore her best friend's face only to wake up alone and craving something she couldn't name?  Elena Gilbert had every one of her loved ones at her bedside when she woke in transition while Caroline woke alone and then had to deal with the ramifications of killing someone by herself, well unless you count Stefan's condescending lessons on hunting venison and hares.  I will call if Elena shows her face here but make no mistake I will put her in her long overdue place before you get here to coddle her into further brat-hood."

I giggle just a little when Finn bends at the waist he's laughing so hard.  He gets out between fits of laughter, "God I've missed him all these years.  There is a reason he's feared by everyone with half a brain, and it's not just because he's stronger and less vulnerable.  He has a knack for putting brats in their proper place in a matter of seconds, and if you think for one second that he didn't know where Katerina was from the moment she woke in transition, then you clearly don't know my brother yet.  She's survived all these years only because he chose to allow it.  He could have destroyed her at any time, but he's far shrewder than that.  He built up his reputation while feeding her terror, and Elena Gilbert is about to anger my brother in a wholly unhealthy and unwise fashion."

I just nod before Niklaus hands the phone to Caroline and tells her, "Make sure he understands that I have completely lost any patience I had for my former little blood bag."

She nods with wide eyes and then says into the phone, "Uh, Damon?"

He sighs and says, "I got the message, Vampire Barbie.  If Elena shows up stall her and have someone call me and I'll break every speeding law on the books to get there before she gets herself killed."

She nods and tells him, "I will."

He sighs again then says, "Good, now where are you, so I know where I'm headed if she shows?"

She sighs this time and tells him, "I'm at the Mikaelsons' Mansion, but think twice before you show up unless you get a text from me saying she's here.  We're enjoying the holiday, and one thing I know for sure is that the Mikaelsons will not put up with party crashers.  Wait to be invited or risk suffering the same fate as Elena if she shows and you don't get here in time to save the day."

He growls and tells her, "Watch it, little girl, I'm your sire.  I deserve a little respect."

She laughs and asks him, "Right, remind me which part I'm supposed to respect you for again.  Should I respect that you used me as an unwilling blood bag for months, or that you compelled me to sleep with you when I refused?   Or that you abused me while I was your blood slave?   Or maybe I should respect that you tried to kill my dad and have tried to kill me on multiple occasions?" 

She pauses, and when he doesn't respond, she tells him, "Tell you what, I'll let you continue to live simply because my best friend loves you, and _you'll_ start acting like I don't owe you for abusing me.  Otherwise, I will end you and not think twice about it, and don't think I can't or won't.  I've already kicked your ass twice, and I certainly wouldn't mind adding a third and ending the event with a stake rammed through your cold, dead heart.  Now if you'll excuse me, I was having fun before you and your brother called and pestered me.  I'll text you if she shows, but you might want to check with your brother because I have a feeling she's with him, now good night."

Then she hangs up again before looking up and finding every eye on her.   Niklaus asks her dangerously, "Did you embellish any of what you just said?"

Her eyes are frightened, and she's trembling, so he walks to her and strokes her cheek, "Relax Luv, I'm not angry with you, and I respect Bonnie too much to risk breaking the truce even if Damon does deserve to be strung up by his entrails and fed on by rats."

She leans into his touch but then bursts into tears.   He gently takes her phone from her hand and gives it to Bonnie before he sweeps his love up into his arms and then tells my granddaughter, "If my doppelgänger shows up, text Damon that she's here and stall her as long as you can while staying safe yourself.  If Caroline feels up to it, we'll be back down in a bit."

Bonnie just nods and watches him carry a bawling Caroline up the stairs.  I follow curious to see what he'll say and how he'll handle this situation.

He doesn't take the still bawling teen to her room.  Instead, he brings her to his and walks to his bed before laying her down on it.  When he tries to pull away, he finds that her little fist is tightly clenching his tuxedo shirt.  He gently peels her fingers away and then faster than even she can see he has her shoes off and then his own.  He takes off his jacket just as quickly and lays it over the back of one of the chairs in his bedroom.  Then he lays down beside her and has her in his arms before he strokes her hair and tells her, "Shh, Luv, I will never let Damon Salvatore mistreat you again.  In fact, if I can help it no one on earth will ever treat you that way ever again.”

She snuggles into him and he tells her, “You were stunning dealing with both Salvatores.  I'm proud of you.  I doubt either of them suspects that your conversations with them upset you so much.   You presented a strong, independent, brave front and it's not contradictory to break down after the fact.  You and Bonnie are quite similar in that respect.  Both of you are beyond strong and brave, but you have both been treated terribly by less deserving vermin.  I know Bonnie currently wishes us to maintain the truce, and I'll honor that wish for as long as she has it, but if he ever tries to so much as lay a finger on you again, I'll consider the truce broken by him first, and I'll end him faster than he can blink."

She looks up at him from her cheek's resting place on his chest and asks, "You'd do that for me?"

He smiles and leans down and kisses her forehead, "Luv, I would start wars for you, or end them.  I would move heaven and earth to protect you, and if you let me, I'll spend the rest of forever making you happy.  I know you're not ready to commit to that yet, so don't say anything.  Just know that the offer stands indefinitely, and if it takes you five centuries to come to me, I'll still be here patiently waiting."

She frowns and tells him, "I'm still sleeping with Tyler."

He chuckles and tells her, "I know.  I can smell his stench on you.  If I'm correct, you slept with him this morning before going to the mall with us.  But for the record, I have not been celibate either, and I won't be until you accept my offer.  Once you accept, you will be the only woman I will know that way until you tell me to leave, but until then I am a man with needs just as you have needs that are being met by another."

She nods and asks, "Can we just lay here for a while.  I don't want to face everyone just yet.  Bonnie knew the finer details of what all Damon did.  It's one of the reasons she hates him so much, but I didn't really want anyone else to know I used to be so pathetic before."

He tips her chin up and tells her, "You were not pathetic, Luv, misguided perhaps, and abused definitely.  Victims aren't pathetic, in fact, most victims I've known have been quite the opposite.  You just stood up to your abuser in front of your family who loves you despite any flaws you think you might have.  You are the epitome of strong and brave, Caroline, never forget that."

She leans up and kisses his chin before telling him, "Thank you, Nik."

She settles back down with her cheek resting against his chest, and I watch while she slowly falls asleep in his arms.  A few minutes later I leave to see what I've missed downstairs.

When I get downstairs, I see Kol and Bonnie having a conversation and Elijah and Jeremy are over in the corner talking to Rebekah.  Henri, Freya, and Finn are nowhere to be seen.

I decide they're probably trying to see what Elena and Stefan are up to, so I leave them to it and focus on Bonnie and Kol.

She's frowning while he tells her, "Don't worry, Little Bella, Nik will take care of Caroline, and we'll take care of each other if Elena or Stefan show up."

She nods but then frowns when he tilts his head in a way she knows means he's listening to things she can't hear.  He frowns back and says, "Tell Damon that Stefan and Elena are outside and he should hurry because they come bearing the only White Oak Ash Dagger not controlled by my family."

Her eyes widen, but she dutifully sends the text.  A moment later Damon texts back, "Be there in 15."

Kol rolls his eyes, "If he had half a brain, he'd leave his vehicle home and get here on foot in three minutes."

My grandbaby giggles but then jumps back when one of the French doors suddenly breaks into so many shards of shattered glass.  Kol reaches out and catches the rock that would have hit Bonnie moments before it can make impact.

Moving between her and the French door he gently pushes her behind him when Elena and Stefan walk through the remains of the door.

Elena sneers and says, "It figures she's here.  Bonnie, did Kol buy you a pretty dress to get you to betray me?"

Bonnie moves to stand beside Kol, which worries him, but he decides he can move faster than they can, so he'll let her show them that she is his equal. 

My granddaughter frowns and tells Elena, "Actually I bought this dress for myself with the money my dad gave me for Christmas, and, for the record, I haven't betrayed you or anyone else for that matter.  We have a truce with the Mikaelsons, and I decided to use that as an opportunity to get to know them better.  You might say I'm doing my homework in case they break the truce.  After all, it never hurts to know everything you can about your opponent.  Now care to explain why _you_ are dangerously close to breaking the truce yourselves."

Elena frowns but tells her, "We're not breaking the truce.   I've been looking for you.  I need you to do a spell for me."

Bonnie frowns but says, "Uh huh and what exactly would this spell do?"

Elena sighs and tells them all, "Well, you know expression, right?  You said Shane said it's the only way to wake Silas.  That means the witch who trapped him used expression.  If she used expression for that, maybe she used it to make the cure, so I want you to try to make a cure from scratch."

Kol is seething, but he wisely keeps his mouth shut and lets Bonnie take care of Elena.  To that end, my grandbaby shakes her head slightly and tells her, "Expression is dark magick, and I've stopped using dark magick."

The brat shakes her head back and takes a step closer before she says, "One little spell won't hurt anything, Bonnie."

My granddaughter raises her eyebrow and asks, "Everything you know about magick you learned from me so how would you know?  For the record, and not taking the fact that the spirits would punish Grams into account, doing any dark magick, even one little spell, upsets the balance and should be avoided at all costs."

Elena takes another step closer and says, "Says who, him?" and she points at Kol.

Bonnie shakes her head again and tells her, "Says Grams and me."

Elena takes another step closer, and Kol tells her, "If I were you I wouldn't get into my personal space, especially with a White Oak Ash Dagger in your possession or I will consider the truce broken and react accordingly."

Her eyes widen at that, and she turns to look at Stefan who shrugs.

Finn who showed up when the dynamic duo did laughs and tells me what I can clearly hear for myself, "Neither of them knows how Kol knows they have the dagger.  Kol's senses including his hearing are almost as good as Niklaus' so he heard them from two blocks away."

I nod and smile at him before Henri asks from behind Elena, "If Kol compelled them, then how are they even here with the intent to use that dagger."

I tilt my head and really think about that, and then the truth occurs to me, one I should have thought of sooner, "Kol died and was physically on The Otherside for several minutes.  If being daggered technically temporarily kills an original and nullifies any of that originals' compulsions, and Kol was technically dead for a few minutes last week then…"

Freya finishes my thought, "All of Kol's compulsions have been removed."

I nod and tell her, "Exactly."

A moment later Elena rushes Bonnie which prompts Kol to step between them and get stuck in the heart with the dagger.  The moment Bonnie realizes what happened, she freezes and then gives Elena and Stefan mind-numbing headaches.

I smile pleased that she doesn't kill either of them with the aneurysms, but she knows she can't tend to Kol and keep control of her power, so she doesn't turn to look at her love while Elijah and Rebekah grab Elena and Stefan and then Bonnie lets go of them with her ability.

As soon as she lets go of the power, she rushes to Kol's side, but he's still wide awake.  He smiles when she brushes his cheek with her soft hand.  He looks at her and says, "She missed my heart.  I'm fine,” he frowns then says under his breath "My death last week must have nullified the compulsions I placed on them."

Um, maybe he should have waited to tell Bonnie that because she frowns and asks, "What do you mean your dying undid your compulsions?  What compulsions?"

He pulls the dagger out of his chest and then frowns and sits up pulling her into his arms before he tells her, "Just as I compelled your father into not trying to harm my family or me I also compelled your friends into keeping to the terms of our truce.  My dying the other day must have undone the compulsions."

Bonnie's eyes widen at that knowledge, but she nods and says, "Can you do it again?"

Now, _his_ chocolate eyes widen, and he frowns deeper before asking her, "You'd let me?"

My grandbaby nods and pulls back to look him in the eye before she says, "Obviously they can't keep the peace on their own so this once I'll let you compel my friends, but just this once and only to keep the peace.   Promise me Kol.  I need reassurance that you won't abuse the ability."

He pulls her back to him and tells her honestly, "I can live with that requirement and give you my word that I will not abuse the ability to compel your friends."

Henri asks me, "If his compulsions wore off then what guarantee do we have that his compulsions will stick this time.  I mean what's to say they haven't been taking Vervain all this week."

Finn grins and tells him, "I know the answer to that question.  Kol's not the one who compelled most of them to stay Vervain free.  Except for Jeremy, whom Kol compelled, the others were all compelled by Niklaus to abstain from taking or wearing Vervain.  I don't think Kol needs to compel Jeremy again, so it should still work for everyone who needs to be compelled."

Henri nods the same time Kol stands and then helps Bonnie stand too.  Elijah is holding Stefan in a firm grip while Rebekah has Elena in a crushing hold.  Elena has tears streaming down her face and begs Bonnie, "How can you be friends with him if he compelled us.  He took our freewill Bonnie, and you're just going to let him do it again?  I thought you were my friend?"

She at glances at Elena and then looks at Kol for a moment before telling him, "You can make them forget any of this ever happened, too."

Kol nods and catches Elena's eyes then tells her, "My previous compulsions are hereby reinstated, and once you leave this house you will not recall that I have ever compelled you.  You will also believe that you only came here tonight to speak with Bonnie about creating a cure from scratch but that she told you no and while you're not okay with that, you _will_ leave the subject be after tonight."

While Elena repeats his words to him, Bonnie frowns and asks, "Compulsions, plural?"

He grins at the fact that she misses nothing and tells her, "I may have also compelled all of your supernatural friends into not trying to threaten or harm you in any way."

She nods and says, "Oh, okay, that's fine I suppose."

He nods and then catches Stefan's eyes and repeats his compulsions.  When he finishes compelling him, Kol releases him and tells them both, "I believe Damon is on his way if you wish to wait for him to arrive, so he may give you both a ride home."

They both nod and just stand there looking awkward.  Elijah turns to his brother and says something in Proto-Norse which Finn translates for me, "He says he will go visit Bonnie's father and mother, Mr. Lockwood, and Mr. Donovan now if Kol likes to replace those compulsions on them as well and Kol can do the same to Damon when he arrives.  We are incredibly lucky that my siblings backed up Kol's compulsions on your former son-in-law and that he has not hit Bonnie even without Kol's compulsion being in place.  I think mostly it's because all my siblings compelled him.  Rebekah compelled him the same day Kol did when he refused to let Bonnie sleepover.  She made it so he wouldn't oppose Bonnie in any way, be it verbal or physical.  Still, it will be good to replace the original compulsions just to be safe."

I nod my thanks and smile but tell him, "Abby also compelled Rudy not to ever harm Bonnie again, so the four of them combined probably kept her safe."

The three Mikaelsons on The Otherside with me all nod and then a moment later the doorbell rings.  Rebekah frowns but says, "I will let Damon in."

Everyone nods so she goes to answer the door.  The moment the door opens, she catches his cerulean eyes and tells him, "All of the compulsions Kol placed on you except the one to kill Jeremy are hereby reinstated.  You will not try to harm Bonnie, Caroline, Jeremy or any member of my family, ever."

She pauses to let him repeat everything back to her then she says, "You will forget that I just compelled you and what the compulsion entailed."

Then she releases him, and as soon as he finishes repeating her compulsion to her she smiles and says, "They're in the Ballroom, come in."

He follows her inside but pulls up short when he enters the room and sees his love and his brother just standing there looking everywhere but at the other occupants of the room.

He looks at Bonnie who now has a dustbin in her hand and is picking up shattered glass from the floor.

Rebekah frowns and asks Bonnie, "Why don't you use Magick to repair the door?"

Bonnie looks up from what she's doing and asks, "There's a spell for that?"

Rebekah laughs and tells her, "There is a spell for most things."

She takes the dustbin from Bonnie's hand and tells her the words to say, so she says the spell and smiles when all the glass swirls around in the air before returning to its proper unbroken state in the door frame.

Damon looks at Elena and then his brother and asks no one in particular, "What happened?"

Kol is the quickest to answer, "They broke our door and then demanded that Bonnie try to create a cure from scratch and claimed that one little dark magick spell won't hurt anything.  Never mind that the last time Bonnie did dark magick Sheila was punished."

Damon rubs the back of his neck and tells Elena and Stefan, "I already told you that dark magick is a bad idea and that I would not support Bonnie performing the necessary spell if only because of the risk it would pose to _her_ health.  I will not trade one friend's wellbeing for the wellbeing of another friend."

Bonnie's eyes are wide, but she smiles and tells him, "Thank you, Damon."

He smiles fondly at her which just causes her eyes to widen even more before he tells her, "You're welcome.  Lord knows you've done enough for all of us through this last year that we shouldn't repay your kindness by getting you killed… or your grams punished."

She smiles and nods again.  He looks around and asks, "Is Caroline still here?"

Bonnie frowns then and tells him, "She was upset, so she went upstairs to lay down."

He nods and says, "Then I'll wait to apologize to her for, well, everything."  He looks at his brother and then Elena and says, "I think you've overstayed your welcome so let’s get out of here before you get any of us killed.  Bonnie, Jer, Mikaelsons, Happy New Year and thanks for not killing my family even though you probably would have been well within your rights."

Kol, Rebekah, and Elijah all nod and then the Salvatores and Elena leave.  Elijah follows behind them to run his errands.

When Rebekah shuts the door behind her brother and the party crashers, the grandfather clock in the living room chimes telling everyone in the house that it's now 2011.

The four people in the ballroom all hug each other wishing each other a Happy New Year.  When Bonnie and Kol meet up, he smiles and leans in and pecks her lips which causes her eyes to widen dramatically before he pulls back and tells her, "Happy New Year, Little Bella."

She decides to pick apart what his kiss means later and instead smiles and tells him, "Thank you, Kol, and to you as well."

He pulls her into his arms and hugs her tight before breathing in her scent.  She correctly guesses what's prompting his behavior and tells him, "I'm fine, Kol.  You taught me how to protect myself and others without accidentally killing anyone, and I did that, and I'm not hurt, and my friends aren't dead.  Epically stupid, yes, but they're not dead, or permanently dead anyway.  You protected me Kol.  You gave me the tools I needed to keep us all safe, myself included."

Her fragility takes his breath away, so he tightens his hold on her ever so slightly, but he nods into her shoulder where his face is pressing into her neck and shoulder.

Before he can pull away, she snuggles into him and asks, "Can I sleep with you tonight?"

He pulls away abruptly and looks at her.  She smiles and tells him, "Just sleep, but I don't want to be alone.  I'll even let you undo my hair if you can live with not getting to do anything naughty with me after you untangle it."

He laughs and tells her, "You have yourself a deal."

Just then Caroline's phone which they forgot on the floor begins to ring and vibrate across the floor.  Bonnie giggles at the 'Mamma Mia' ringtone and picks up the phone before pressing send and telling the caller, "Sheriff Forbes I wound up with Caroline's phone, let me go get her for you."

Liz asks, "Why do you have Caroline's phone?"

Bonnie smiles and nods before she tells her, "Everyone's safe, but there was an incident, and Caroline was upset, so Nik took her to a quiet room to help her calm down."

She grabs hold of Kol's hand and drags him behind her when she leaves the ballroom and heads up the stairs.  She walks them to Niklaus' bedroom door and then softly knocks. 

Kol hears his brother say, "Come in," so he opens the door and lets Bonnie in who looks at him sideways.

He laughs at her look and taps his finger against his ear and says softly, "Vampire senses remember?  I heard him say come in when you couldn't."

She nods and then enters the room where she pulls up short at the picture Niklaus and Caroline make lying on the bed in their party clothes.  Caroline is fast asleep, so she whispers, "Should I have her mom call her back tomorrow, or later today I guess?"

The two brothers both hear Liz ask, "Why can't she talk to me now?"

Bonnie quietly tells her, "She's asleep on top of the covers, and you'd probably actually laugh because I think she's drooling on Klaus."

Liz laughs and says, "Tell you what, I've got an accident I'm dealing with so have her call me when she wakes up in the morning."

Bonnie nods and says, "Okay, Sheriff.  Happy New Year."

Niklaus and Kol can both hear the smile in Liz's voice when she says, "Happy New Year to you too, Bonnie."

They hang up a minute later, and Bonnie puts Caroline's phone on the bedside table telling Niklaus, "I'll just leave that there, so she can call without needing to wake me up because if she's already asleep that means she'll be waking up before everyone else.  If you see her first tell her to call her mom when she's awake enough to handle being teased for falling asleep before midnight."

He smiles and nods, so Bonnie blows him a kiss and says, "Happy New Year, Nik."  Then she drags Kol back out the still open door and shuts the door behind herself.

Pausing in the hallway, she asks, "Uh, whose room should we sleep in?"

Kol smiles and asks her, "Have you ever slept in a man's bed with him before?"

My grandbaby looks down and shuffles her feet while she shakes her head, so he tips her chin up and looks into her eyes before telling her, "Hey, that's not a bad thing.  I wasn't asking to embarrass you.  I was asking because my next question is which room do you think would make _you_ more comfortable.  We've slept in your room once before, so if that will make you feel less anxiety, then we can do that.  I'm flexible Bonnie.  I want whatever makes you most comfortable, okay?"

She nods as much as his hand on her chin will allow and then she says, "I think I'll feel better in my room."  She pauses then adds, "If you could call it that."

He smiles and tells her, "It's never been used by anyone else, so it's definitely your room.  Now you go to your room, and I'll go get my sleep pants because a bloody and torn tux isn't really proper sleepwear.  Then I'll meet you in your room, okay?  Leave your hair up though, and I'll deal with it when I come back."

She yawns but nods and leans in and kisses his cheek then she smiles and turns and walks to her bedroom.  He grins at her retreating form and then vamp speeds to his room.  About a minute later he vamp speeds back to her door wearing sleep pants and a t-shirt before he knocks on the open door.

She comes out of the closet and giggles before telling him, "I'm still getting used to vampire speed."

Smiling he tells her, "You go change out of your dress, and I'll turn down the bed, and when you come out I'll comb out your hair for you before we lie down."

She nods and goes into the bathroom.  He does as he said he would and turns down the bed before sitting in one of the leather chairs in the corner of the room.

A moment later my baby girl comes back out still in her dress and blushing asks him, "Um, can you unzip me?"

His chocolate eyes sparkle when he tells her, "I would be happy to unzip you."

She laughs and tells him, "Get your head out of the gutter, Kol."

Laughing he stands, walking to her before he takes her shoulders and turns her, so she's facing away from him.  He gently pulls her zipper down her back before stepping back and telling her, "There you go, Darling."

The flash of her bare back that he sees when he unzips her sends a thrill through him in much the same way I imagine those flashes of ankle used to back a few centuries ago.

Still blushing, Bonnie nods with her hand holding the top of her dress in place and says, "Thank you, Kol," then she hurries into the bathroom again.

He laughs at her hasty departure and smiles when the door closes behind her.

When she comes out, she's wearing a purple tank top and her matching purple, pink, and blue checkered flannel sleep pants.  Smiling from his spot near the bed he tells her, "I need a comb and your brush."

She smiles and goes back into the bathroom before returning and handing him the items he requested.  Taking them from her, he then pulls her into his arms and just holds her for a moment.  She's stiff at first, but after a few seconds, she relaxes into the embrace.

He silently thanks God, _'Thank you, God, for keeping Bonnie and my family safe this evening.'_

He whispers into her hair, "I'm sorry I did not realize sooner that my compulsions had been made null and void by my temporary death.  It honestly didn't even occur to me."

She tries to pull away, but he holds on tight, so she snuggles deeper into his hold and tells him, "It's okay.  As everyone keeps pointing out to me, no one is perfect.  Besides, I know you've been daggered seven times but how many times have you been temporarily killed through other means?"

He laughs, "Not nearly as much as Elijah has.  People tend to try to stake him and while it kills him for a few minutes it mostly just further angers him.  I don't know that he's ever had standing compulsions in place when it happened though."

My precious girl nods and says, "See, so you had no way of knowing it would do the same thing to your compulsions that daggering you would have done."  She pauses then says, "By the way, thank you."

He pulls away slightly and asks her, "For what specifically?"

She giggles and tells him, "You didn't come out and say it, but I know you compelled my friends to keep the peace more for me than for you.  I know you all well enough by now to know you've all been very forgiving and haven't, how do I put it, you haven't shown us your true capabilities, not even close by my best guess.  I just wanted to thank you for compelling them to keep the peace because I know now that you are the only reason my friends are all still alive."

Kol cups her cheeks and tells her, "For you, I would do just about anything, even let annoying Elena Gilbert crash our party tonight and not exact some sort of payback, but you're welcome all the same."  He leans in and kisses her forehead for a long moment and then pulls away entirely before taking her hand and leading her to the leather chairs in the corner of the room.

My grandbaby sits in one of the chairs before using her hand to cover a yawn.  Kol smiles and begins carefully extracting the first antique comb and then the other before handing both to her.  Then he carefully sets about removing bobby pins and unraveling every curl and braid as gently as he can.  The only words spoken while he does her hair are when she sighs and says, "That feels almost as good as it felt when the stylist was creating the hairstyle."

Laughing he smiles and says, "Good, it's been some time since I had the privilege of unraveling a woman's hairdo, so I worried I might be a little rusty."

She shakes her head no prompting him to grab the sides of her head and gently keep her from moving her head.  He chuckles and tells her, "If you move, I'm more likely to unintentionally pull on your hair, and it won't feel good for long."

Giggling she tells him, "Sorry."

He smiles wider and says, "See that it doesn't happen again," which prompts another giggle out of her.

When he's finally done unraveling every loop of hair he gently runs the brush through her hair a few times before stepping back and telling her, "There you go, Darling.  Ready for bed."

She stands and turns to look at him before telling him, "Thank you, Kol.  I wish I could give you—"

He places his finger on her lips stopping her mid-sentence, "Stop that right there.  I am perfectly happy with what you've already given me.  I know I implied that my fondness for unraveling hair was tied to something sexual, but it's more than that.  There is an intimacy shared when a man unravels a woman's hair.  That's just as good as anything else you could have given me tonight.  In fact, I'd go so far as to say it'd be pretty hard to beat that gift, and before you ask, making love to you would be a gift for sure, but it's not the act that appeals to me but rather the intimacy shared while doing the act.  Don't get me wrong it would feel amazing I'm sure, but just being with me like this and letting me unravel your hair is more than I've had with a woman in a really long time.  So, I don't presently require anything else but your companionship and if I'm lucky the opportunity to hold you while you sleep."

She smiles but honestly tells him, "You're so different than all the boys I know.  They'd be angling to get me into bed right now.  I don't know how to handle you."

He smiles and tells her, "Oh I'm angling to get you into bed, but all I want to do when we get there is hold you.  And there is an important word you used.  You said I'm different than all the other _boys_ you know.  I'm not a boy, Bonnie.  I'm a 1,029-year-old man, and over that thousand plus years I have refined my tastes and learned what the important things in life are.  If those boys you know are lucky, in a few years, they'll mature a bit, too, but make no mistake I haven't been a boy in an exceptionally long time.  In fact, I'd go so far as to say the boy I was died on the morning of October 05, 1001 when I woke in transition and then drained the woman I loved of all of her blood."

A tear slips out of Bonnie's eye, which he quickly catches with his thumb.  He wipes it away and then sucks his thumb into his mouth savoring her taste before telling her, "Don't cry, Little Bella.  For the most part, I've grown from my experiences and although I will always wish that I hadn't killed Eija I have accepted the fact that I did actually kill her and I moved on from it.”

He smiles and cups her cheek with his hand before telling her, “I saw her briefly in 1345, the first time Nik daggered me.  We talked, and I apologized, and she told me there was nothing for her to forgive.  That blew my mind as the saying goes, but I could always tell when she was lying, so I know she meant it.”

Bonnie’s watery eyes are wide open, and he smiles softly and says, “We hugged and kissed, and we just talked for a few hours and then she slowly faded away when she found peace.  I know now that she had waited all that time to see me and tell me she forgave me.  That was far more than I thought I deserved, but it helped me overcome the immense guilt I felt over what I had done to her.  She made it clear that she blamed Esther and Mikael, and her reasoning for that made sense, so I stopped blaming myself for the most part and started placing the blame where it really belongs."

Bonnie smiles through her tears and tells him, "That's beautiful, Kol.  I can't tell you how pleased I am that you got to have those moments with her and get her forgiveness.  Though I tend to agree with her that it's not you who needs to repent and seek forgiveness."

He nods and then pulls away before grabbing her hand and leading her toward the bed.  He places the comb and brush on the bedside table and then asks, "I know I slept on the right last time, but do you prefer one side over another?"

She giggles and tells him, "I have no idea.  You're the only boy, err man, I've ever slept with."

His eyebrow rises, and he asks, "You didn't sleep with Jeremy?"

She shakes her head but tells him, "I did, but it was always on the couch when we fell asleep watching movies.  I never slept in a bed with any guy until you a few weeks ago.  I've slept in the same bed as Elena and Caroline before, but Elena always claims the left side.  Care usually claims the right, so I'm not sure I have a side."

He laughs and says, "Then if you don't mind, I'd prefer the right side.  If you change your mind, let me know, but if you don't have an actual preference, then mine is the right."

My grandbaby giggles and then climbs into the bed sliding over to the left side.  Kol smiles and slides in after her before gently grabbing her arm and pulling her into his side.  She giggles harder and tells him, "I thought you wanted the right side?"

Smiling he tells her, "I have the right side, but mostly I want to share it with you."

Snuggling in closer to him she then closes her eyes when he turns off the bedside light.  He kisses the top of her head and then closes his eyes before telling her, "I was proud of you for standing up to Ms. Gilbert and resisting the urge I know you had to give in to her request and help her regain her humanity."

I see my precious girl smile even in the dark of the room before she tells him, "You taught me enough that I know nothing good ever comes from dark magick, not even when the result seems like a good thing.  Plus, I did like you told me to that first day.  I thought about what Grams would say if Elena asked her to do the same thing.  I know to the bottom of my heart that Grams would say no.  She'd want to help Elena, but she would know that the danger to the witch would be too great to perform that spell.  I feel bad though.  I have the actual spell, so I could easily do it for her, but no matter how badly she wants to be human I want to live to see my 19th birthday too so…"

His kisses her forehead and tells her, "If I have anything to say about it you will see far beyond your 19th birthday.  I regret that anyone has to be a vampire against their will, but as I told you that first day, generally speaking, that's how it is.  Nik was right, the only one we've ever known who chose this life was Sage, and she only did it because she wanted to be with Finn for the rest of eternity.  I kind of hope they're together on the Otherside, so they're not separated for all of eternity."

I frown at that.  Finn and Sage were temporarily reunited when they both died, but she moved on a day later and found peace.  I always felt sorry for Finn about that.  He's pretty much all alone, well except for Freya, Henri, and now me.  My heart aches for his pain though, and I wish there were something I could do to lessen his pain.

Henri enters the room and takes one look at me before he smiles and says, "You've got your 'I hurt for Finn's pain' face on Sheila.  What's causing you such grief?"

I frown and tell him, "It's just that Kol wished that Finn and Sage are here together, but as you know she found peace shortly after arriving on The Otherside.  I just wish there was something we could do to ease his pain."

He smiles and tells me, "He's not in pain, Sheila.  He misses her for sure but the fact that she found peace brings him joy.  That's all he ever wanted for her was for her to be at peace, be it as a vampire or as a ghost, and he got that wish.  He's not tortured by her absence.  Weirdly her finding peace has brought him a sense of peace too.  He always hated that he broke down and did what she wanted and turned her.  He always hated being a vampire, much the same as Kol and the one regret he never shared with her was that he did what she wished and killed her.  Oh, she was still with him, unlike Kol and Eija but he always felt he had done the wrong thing by giving in to her request.  He once likened it to Esther giving in to Mikael's demands that she do The Immortality Spell on our family.  Now she's at peace, and he's no longer plagued by that guilt he harbored for 900 years."

I nod and look back at the now sleeping couple, smiling at the picture they make.  They really are a striking couple, and the care they both share for each other well it's all I could have ever hoped for either of them to have.  I stand and tell Henri, "I have a pretty good idea where their thoughts are going to go tonight, so I'd rather not watch my granddaughter and her love think about doing those sorts of things together."

Henri smiles and nods with a little giggle, and he follows me out of the room and down to the den where we spend the night each lost in our own thoughts.  At one point I ask, "Where's Finn tonight?"

He giggles again and gives me a knowing look I'd rather pretend I don't understand before he tells me, "He and Freya are watching over Ms. Gilbert and the Salvatores tonight to make sure we know everything we need to for when we get to talk to our loved ones again.  I still can't remember which book the two spells we need are in or who wrote them, but I know he got the book in Haiti around 1684, which should at least narrow it down a little.

I just nod and go back to staring at the twinkling lights of the Christmas tree.


	13. They Really Chose Me

**______________________________________________________________________________**

**Chapter 013**

**They Really Chose Me**

**______________________________________________________________________________**

**Tuesday, January 04, 2011, at about 4:15 p.m.**

**Girl's Locker Room at Mystic Falls High School**

**______________________________________________________________________________**

Bonnie slept over at the Mikaelson's house Sunday night and then went home yesterday after Kol compelled her father to let her sleep over any time she wants.

My grandbaby just finished cheer practice, and while she's heading into the locker room, she hears her phone ring.  She knows it's hers because the ringtone is wolves howling, which also tells her that the caller is one Niklaus Mikaelson.  Hurrying into the locker room, she opens her locker and pulls out her phone and answers it before he can hang up, "Hello, Pebbles."

She smiles when he laughs and says, "Hello, Luv, I was beginning to think you were screening your phone calls."

She giggles, which if the other times she's giggled at the hybrid's jokes are any indication probably sends warmth through his chest before she tells him, "Nope, I just got done with cheer practice, so I was barely inside the locker room when the phone began to ring.  So, my favorite hybrid, what's up?"

I chuckle because they really have come a long way in the month since she and Kol made their truce.  Bonnie and I can both hear that he's smiling in a very uncharacteristic manner when he tells her, "Careful, Luv, you don't want young Tyler to hear that."

Scoffing she tells him, "Please, Tyler and I barely talk, and you and I talk at least three times every day since I became friends with you so clearly you beat him in that way, but just between you and me, I think you beat him in most ways.  He's kind of an ass.  Well… then again you _are_ rather good at being an ass yourself, but you're growing on me… like a fungus."

I laugh.  They really have been talking a couple of times a day.  He's even made a point to call her and speak with her on the days when he doesn't see her in person.  He's never had a friend who wasn't a mass murderer like him, so he's sort of enjoying the novelty of it all, but more than that he's enjoying having her in his life.  She brings joy to his life in ways that only she and Caroline have been able to in his 1,033 years on this earth.  Bonnie and Caroline are the only people other than his family who have given him not only a chance but told it to him straight when he messes up and acts like an ass.  His behaving like an ass has been less frequent than it usually is, though, but she still knows he's damn good at being an ass without even trying in most instances. 

My grandbaby is the only person he has ever met, however, who has had the guts to tell him that he's growing on her like a fungus, so his laughter is in all likelihood genuine before he says, "You have such a lovely way with words, Little Witch, but you have grown on me as well."

She giggles and says, "It's a gift.  So, what's up?"

He chuckles at her words and then says, "I have a favor to ask of you."

My precious girl thinks, _'Uh oh, that can't be good.'_   She sits heavily on a bench before she asks him with obvious trepidation in her voice, "Um, what exactly do you need?"

He laughs again.  I watched when Niklaus overheard her telling his sister that she used to think his laugh was creepy, like in a psycho laughing _at_ you instead of _with_ you kind of way, but, now, she finds she kind of likes it.   He's still chuckling softly when he tells her, "Relax, Luv, I simply need someone to draw.  I have thousands of drawings of my family but none of you.  I want an actual challenge instead of drawing faces I've been drawing for a millennium so I thought I'd ask you if you are available to sit for me."

There is a pregnant pause while she clearly asks herself, _'He what?  Um, yeah that's not weird or anything.  I mean the boogie man just asked me to let him draw me.'_  

He's hoping she won't find it too weird or anything.  I mean he knows damn well that he was the monster under the bed for her and her friends for a long time, but I can tell from his tone that he's hoping she'll overlook that and let him draw her.  She still hasn't said anything or even made a noise, so he asks, "Luv, you still there?"

"Um, I've never been drawn before, and you know I have just as hard a time sitting still as Kol does, so I don't know."

He laughs again, "First, no one has as hard a time sitting still as my younger brother.  Second, do you think after drawing him for centuries I haven't learned every trick in the book to get him to sit still?  I'll just adapt those strategies to you."

She sighs before she says, "Um, okay, I guess, if you promise not to get mad if I fidget."

I've watched him with his family and with Bonnie enough to know that he doesn't generally get angry over that sort of thing.  While he may have a fuse that is only just slightly longer than Kol's when it comes to losing his temper, he doesn't generally get angry while making art even if his subject can't sit still for longer than two seconds, so he asks her, "Do you trust me, Luv?"

He lets out a breath and obviously breathes a little easier because he hears the smile in her voice when she tells him, "Maybe, a little anyhow."  She pauses for a second and looks down at her sweaty self and then says, "I've got to shower because I'm all hot and sweaty, so I can come over in like 45 minutes, maybe a little longer because it seems like the showers are already at full capacity."

Niklaus is obviously smiling too and tells her "I'll be here then, thank you, Luv."

She smiles wider and warns him, "Don't thank me yet."

He laughs and then says, "I'll see you in 45 minutes."

"Bye."

When my granddaughter hangs up, I marvel at the fact that Niklaus Mikaelson just laughed multiple times without it being sarcastic even once.  She really has changed him for the better, well her and Caroline have.  Both have honestly given him a chance, even if Caroline has been a little more reluctant in providing that chance.  I know he finds, though, that he wants to do everything he can to prove to both that he's worthy of that opportunity.  I mean if you think about it, Bonnie had no reason to give him a second chance to prove himself, and she still gave it to him. 

I flash on the memory of Mikael's face when he told Niklaus, "Nobody cares about you anymore, boy!  What do you have other than those whose loyalty you've forced?  No one.  No one."   Niklaus remembers that night and specifically those words often.  Turns out Mikael never met the likes of my granddaughter or Caroline Forbes.  I'm grateful for that too because I hate to think what the evil original father might have tried to do to them.  Niklaus has considered the same thing also amazingly enough.  He believes that Mikael would have tortured both women far worse than he did Chalina simply because he didn't like anyone loving his children.  At this point, Bonnie would have wiped the floor with him but back then neither Bonnie or Caroline would have fared well against his step-father.

I smile though because, while at the time Mikael said those words they hit their mark and wounded his son, everyone else, including Niklaus, is having the last laugh because not only did the hybrid kill his step-father but now he has Bonnie as a friend and the hope that he might someday have Caroline for more than friendship.

I'm pulled out of my thoughts of Niklaus when Bonnie rushes to grab her shower stuff and then hurries into the showers.  She's secretly loving not having bruises to hide anymore.  Kol's friendship and really that of all the Mikaelsons has really helped her come out of her shell and has freed her from so much pain and torment.  Not to mention the fear she no longer has at every moment.  She used to worry that someone might see her bruises and ask about them or worse tell an adult and get her dad into trouble.  Now she doesn't have to worry about that at all, and she's finding life is pretty nice when you're not worried you might set someone off and cause them to beat you.

When she's coming out of the shower 15 minutes later, she almost runs into Rebekah who grabs her upper arms to keep her from toppling over and then the blonde smiles and says, "Hey, I just wanted to let you know that Janet offered to give me a ride home if you're busy."

Bonnie smiles and tells her honestly, "I'm actually going to your house to hang out with your brother, so if you don't mind waiting for ten minutes, I can give you a ride."

Rebekah smiles and asks, "So what do you and Kol plan on doing?"

My grandbaby laughs and tells her in a lowered voice because who knows if Elena is still around or not, "Wrong brother, Nik asked me to sit for him so he can draw me."

Rebekah surprises us both by hugging Bonnie and telling her, "Oh thank you, you don't know how annoying it gets after centuries just sitting there for hours doing nothing."  Bonnie frowns at her when she pulls back so Rebekah adds, "But it'll be new and exciting for you, so it should be okay."

Bonnie just nods at her and then goes and dresses.  20 minutes later she's done blow drying her hair and applying her make-up, so she turns and faces Rebekah, striking a pose before asking, "So what do you think, will I pass inspection?"

She nods at Bonnie and with a smile says, "You would have even if you didn't put your make-up back on."

My granddaughter smiles because it's always nice to get reassurance from another pretty girl that you're pretty too.  They walk out of the locker room arm in arm and head to Bonnie's car.  Chattering about nonsense, she drives them to the Mikaelsons' mansion, but Bonnie's stomach has a swarm of butterflies break-dancing inside it.  She asks herself, _'Am I really going to go hang out with Niklaus Mikaelson, just the two of us?'_

When she pulls up to the house, she decides, _'Yes, apparently I am.'_   They get out, and Rebekah lets them into the house before she tells Bonnie, "You know which room his studio is right?"

I can hear Niklaus' thoughts when we walk into the house.  He hears them both get out of Bonnie's car.  He bought Rebekah a vehicle shortly after Elijah revived her and the rest of their family but since they all became friends with Bonnie, his sister has taken to leaving her car here and getting rides to and from school with Bonnie. 

Bonnie nods at her question, so Rebekah says, "Come and find me when he releases you."

Bonnie giggles and so does she before my grandbaby walks down the hallway.

Bonnie walks towards Niklaus' studio and knocks on the open door.  When he looks up from his desk, he says, "Come in, Luv."

She shuffles in, and he points to the couch by the wall and says, "Relax, Luv, you're not marching in front of the firing squad."

Giggling she tells him, "Sorry, but you're The Big Bad Hybrid and except for when you were in Ric's body when you first came to town, I don't think I've ever been in a room completely alone with you before, so I'm a little out of my depths here."

He nods while she sits on the couch and then he gets up from his desk chair and walks over to an empty canvas.  Her eyes get wide before she asks him, "I thought you were drawing me, not painting?"

He smiles what he thinks is a rather handsome smile at her and says, "Does it really matter, Luv?"

She seems to realize that it indeed does not matter, so she shakes her head.  She sits against the arm of the couch and puts her elbow on the arm and then puts her chin into the cup of the palm of her hand.  He looks up and says, "That's perfect Luv.  Stay just like that."

Bonnie smiles, and while he picks up his brush and the palette he already prepared, she asks him, "Okay.  Um, am I allowed to talk?"

He chuckles and begins laying down brush strokes while he tells her, "I was actually going to offer to answer any questions you might have, so yes you can speak."

She frowns and her brows furrow before she asks, "Questions about what?"

Smiling again because she really is unassuming, he says, "Me, my family, history, art, whatever you want.  You have a unique opportunity for two reasons.  First, I very rarely allow anyone to ask me _anything_ they like without guidelines in place.  And second, I'm 1,033-years-old.  Except for Elijah who was only daggered recently and only for a few months, no one else currently on earth has been alive _and_ awake for that entire time, so ask away, Luv."

She very obviously has no clue what to ask him, so she stalls for time by telling him, "You should have warned me, and I'd actually have thought about it before coming over.  Um, well, you've known three doppelgängers, were they all brats?"

Niklaus and I both burst out laughing because her face clearly says, _'Um oops, did I say that out loud?'_  He calms his laughter a moment later, but in between chuckles he tells her, "Well Katerina you know, and she was every bit the brat then that she is now.  She always felt entitled, and she perhaps had feelings for Elijah, but I was higher ranking, so she went after me instead and then got upset when she found out that I too had ulterior motives."

Bonnie giggles but tells him, " _Ulterior motives,_ is that what they're calling a plan to kill her nowadays?  She had the right to be upset on that front, though I'm not happy to hear that she was messing with you and Elijah, too.  I mean first you two, and then the Salvatores.  She has a thing for playing with brothers I think."

He chuckles again and tells her, "That is true of all three of the doppelgängers that I've known.  Tatia strung Elijah and me along for over two years.  Katerina tried to play us off each other and then hundreds of years later was slightly more successful when doing the same thing to the Salvatores.  And the most recent one is also toying with the Salvatores' hearts.  And to answer your first question, in my opinion, yes, all three of them were brats.  In fact, brat is the perfect word to describe each of them."

My grandbaby stiffens her shoulders slightly and asks, "Were you only after Katherine for her blood, or did you actually like her?"

He laughs lightly but shakes his head and says, "Elijah liked her, maybe even loved her, but I couldn't stand the bitch.  My older brother has a soft spot for doppelgängers.  We both wanted Tatia, but he wanted to save Katerina, and then he tried and succeeded in helping you all save Elena.  Although just between you and me, I think his soft spot for the most recent doppelgänger is slowly hardening.  Besides our time together during the holidays, Elijah has been in touch with young Jeremy quite a bit, and he does not approve of how the boy's older sister is treating him."

My precious girl's hazel eyes widen at that news, "He's been in touch with Jer?  I had no idea.  I mean I knew they seemed to get along at Christmas and New Year’s, but I didn't know they had been talking before or since then.  What do they talk about?"

He laughs loudly, and grinning, tells her honestly, "Elijah is very caring and tends to focus on helping those he cares about in whatever way they need.  Make no mistake, the fact that Jeremy allowed his arms to be cut off to save everyone, myself and Kol included, put the teen firmly on the list of people Elijah cares about.  Anyhow, I think mostly they discuss how Jeremy is coping.  Your friend has made several comments about Elena avoiding him, which upsets Elijah because so far as every member of this family is concerned you don't turn your back on family.  You might fight with that family.  You might disagree with them.  In my case, I've daggered them all at various points, but family is family.  When a member of your family is hurt and in need of assistance, you drop everything and give them the help they need.  Even _I_ know that!  However, Elena is not even remotely doing that."

I know Bonnie knew all of that from Jeremy, but I also know she didn't realize the Mikaelsons knew about it.  Still, she agrees, so she nods and tells him, "She's so hung up on this being a vampire thing, and I get that she never asked for it, but point of fact, I have yet to meet a vampire who consented before entering transition.  I mean, think about it, no one in your family except Mikael consented, and he's an abusive asshat, so he doesn't count, and I never actually met the asshole anyway.  But none of you asked to become vampires.  Kol didn't ask to be made into a monster that drained the love of his life of all her blood.  Rebekah didn't ask to become a vampire and never be able to have children of her own.  You didn't ask to become a vampire, a wolf _or_ a hybrid.  Elijah, Finn, Damon, Stefan, Caroline, none of you asked to become what you are, and I'm pretty sure none of you wanted it because except for the Salvatores none of you had a clue what was happening to you when you woke up thirsty for blood."

That's another reason Niklaus is so fond of Bonnie.  She understands.  She might not have similar life experience, but she works to understand how everyone else is feeling and coping with the hands life dealt them and even if she can't fully understand it's not for lack of trying and, even still, she empathizes at the very least.

My granddaughter pauses and thinks for a second then she tells him, "Kol said he's fed people his blood to heal them and then they died not knowing what was happening, so I'm beginning to understand that most if not all vampires don't choose that life.  Anyway, the course of Elena's life is not unique, yet she acts like no one could possibly understand what it's like to be a vampire.  While I don't personally know what it's like, I have talked to Caroline about her experiences.  Now Kol and Rebekah are telling me stuff about theirs, so I think I have more of a clue than most people would.  She doesn't want to talk about it, though, unless we're going to talk about how to fix it.  There is no fixing it, or at least not without killing everyone we love."

He nods and says to her, “You are correct that her experiences and life course are not unique, but really every doppelgänger thinks they're unique, that or they try to convince everyone of it anyhow."

She nods and then huffs and says, "Let's talk about something else, something not so depressing and anger-inducing.  Where were you during The Renaissance?"

He smiles and tells her, "Hmm let's see, I spent most of the fourteenth century in Italy and the first half of the fifteenth century in Russia.  Then we spent the second half of the fifteenth century in England, and after the mess with Katerina, we moved back to Italy for a time.  We spent about four decades there, moving about every few years to keep the locals from realizing we weren't aging.  I was in metaphorical heaven in terms of the art that all the artists were creating all around me.  Then we traveled around Europe for a bit not really staying anywhere for long but by 1564 we were in Copenhagen, and we enjoyed that quite a bit."

She tilts her head and with a smile firmly in place asks, "What exactly did you enjoy so much about it?"

He smiles back, and after laying down a few more brush strokes, he looks up and says, "Honestly, the women were plentiful, and by then we all had our bloodlusts under control, for the most part, so we could stay longer because there wasn't a pile of bodies growing at our feet.  Even Kol, whom I had released from his coffin in 1562, had a good handle on the killing sprees.  Don't get me wrong, he still had a problem with his temper, and that led to many bloodbaths but those were dwindling by that point, so we were able to just be a family for a while.  By 1574 Kol grew restless again and went and traveled on his own and it just wasn't the same without him."

She smiles, and I can tell by the set of her shoulders that she thinks what she's about to ask may be a touchy question, "You seem like you spent most of your time with Elijah but that you longed for Kol?  Err, not to say that you don't love Elijah, but um…"

He chuckles and says, "Don't worry Luv you haven't offended me.  I did spend most of my life with Elijah by my side.  He was essentially my General.  Kol, on the other hand, was my partner in crime.  When I wanted to not be so stuffy and rule-oriented, I'd go find Kol, and we'd see what mischief we could bring about.  That's actually why we…"

She sits up a little straighter, "Why you what?"

He frowns but answers, "In 1674 I once again released Kol from his coffin.  He promptly left the area, so we spent the next 25 years following him from place to place trying to catch up to him and honestly, the bloodshed was attracting attention.  By 1699 we found him in Spain, but we almost missed him because he had mellowed.  A witch friend of his helped him learn to control his bloodlust _and_ his anger and jealousy.  The three in tandem made it possible for him to stay in one place for longer periods without attracting Mikael.  We spent just about three years in Spain with him and things were good, really good, and then Mikael showed up and ruined everything."

She sits up a little straighter and asks, "You're talking about Chalina, right?"

He nods and pauses before thinking, _'Do I tell her the rest?  Kol will probably tell her eventually so I might as well not avoid it,'_ so he tells her, "I'm certain Kol and I are not as close as we were then because I wound up having to dagger him again and not just for a few decades.  I daggered him for 119 years.  When he got out, he was incredibly angry with me and slaughtered a lot of people, which I feared would bring Mikael to our doorstep once more, so I made a judgment call and daggered him again after he had only been out for a few months and I didn’t release him until 1900.  He resented me for taking that much time from him, so he sought to find a way to dagger me back.”

He sighs and then meets her eyes and says, “Once I found out he was actively trying to create a dagger that would work on me, I had no choice but to dagger him again.  Elijah released him last autumn, and fortunately for me, he seems to have lost some of his anger this time around.  I have high hopes that we may find the happiness we had so fleetingly back in 1700.  You're actually a big part of that."

Her back stiffens, and her eyes widen at that while she clearly wonders, _'Me, how am I involved?'_  

He chuckles and tells her, "Relax Luv, you mellow Kol and your need for a teacher has once again given him a purpose, a reason to exist if you will."

Her shoulders relax noticeably at that, so he smiles that handsome smile again and tells her, "Why don't you go upstairs and see Kol."

She smiles but asks, "Are you done already?"

Grinning in return, he shakes his head and tells her, "Because I'm painting you and not drawing you, it'll take much longer.  If you're willing I'd like you to sit for me a few more times, but you're beginning to fidget, so I thought I'd give you the opportunity to get up and go do something else before sitting still becomes bothersome."

She smiles and stands up, "If you're sure?"

He nods, so she turns to leave, but stops at the doorway and turns back and tells him, "I'm glad your family is free of Mikael now and that you all have a real chance at being a happy family.  You all deserve happiness, even you Nik, maybe especially you."

His eyes widen at that, so she smiles and tells him, "I know Caroline will be home tonight if you feel like going for a walk."

That she obviously condones his actively trying to woo her best friend brings a genuine smile to his face before he tells her, "I might at that, Luv."

She giggles and then walks out of the room.

**______________________________________________________________________________**

**Friday, January 14, 2011, 3:00 p.m.**

**Kol's Study in the Mikaelson's Mansion**

**______________________________________________________________________________**

It's been six weeks since The Original Family and my granddaughter went to the beach and did the spell returning all their magick to each of them and about a day over two weeks since Bonnie found the spell to make it possible for Niklaus to make hybrids without needing to feed them doppelgänger blood. 

She's pretty sure she's going to offer her spell casting services to Niklaus.  She has the book in her bag, and she's brought it with her when she came here for the last two days, but she hasn't seen him at all. 

She saw him every day through Tuesday because he's been working on his painting of her.  He won't let her see it either, but that's another story for another time. 

So back to Niklaus being mysteriously absent the last two days.  She thought about calling him, but, on the one hand, she's grateful that she hasn't seen him and had to officially make the decision, but, on the other hand, she just wishes he'd show his face, so she can get it over with.

It's Friday afternoon again, and she's currently sitting in Kol's study with him while she reads through my book with all the family trees and lists and biographies of everyone in our line dating back more than 3,825 years for the third time when there is a knock on the bedroom door. 

Kol gets up and answers it, and Bonnie and I can both tell by the knock that it's Elijah at the door.  He's pretty much the only Mikaelson sibling who not only knows it's polite to knock before entering someone else's personal space, but he also seems to be the only one who bothers practicing the custom unless there are what I'll call outsiders with them.  I find that particularly funny after Kol made a point of telling Bonnie that first day about how much he values the privacy a closed-door gives him from the rest of the world.  Plus he made that comment about how Niklaus would tear heads off people's shoulders if they presumed to enter his space without knocking _and_ waiting for him to invite them inside. 

Apparently, those statements only apply to those who aren't Mikaelsons.  Needless to say, Bonnie makes sure she knocks anytime she comes across a closed door while visiting them.  Hell, she even knocks when the door is open, just to be safe.

Anyway, the two brothers speak too softly for her to hear what they're saying, but it's obvious Kol doesn't like whatever it is his brother said when he comes back into the room and flops down into his chair with a heavy sigh.

She marks her place on Ayana's biography, which she's rereading because it's pretty interesting.  She's the one whose family grimoire gave Esther the spell she needed to turn her family.  She was a mentor of sorts to Esther.

Bonnie shakes her head to clear it of thoughts of our interesting yet extremely dangerous ancestors and focuses on the vampire sitting in front of her because he's obviously upset about something if his hunched shoulders, pout, and bouncing knee are any indication, so she closes her book and asks, "What's wrong, Kol?"

He frowns and says, "It's nothing—"

I don't need The Truth Spell to know he's lying and neither does she, so she interrupts, "Bull, you're frowning _and_ pouting, so it must be something, but if you don't want to talk to me about it, then just say so, but don't lie about it."

He sits up straight at that and looks her in the eye before he says, "I'm sorry, Little Bella, you are correct.  I shouldn't have said that.  I don't mind talking with you about it, but let's wait a few minutes until Elijah has left the house.  Then I'll tell you all about it, okay?"

She nods and goes back to reading and Kol does the same.  About ten minutes later he closes his book and leans towards her before he says, "Nik heard rumors that people are actively conspiring against him in New Orleans, so he went yesterday to investigate, and Elijah has decided to go follow him and help."

Well, that explains why she hasn't seen Niklaus yesterday or today.  She frowns and waits, but when he doesn't elaborate she asks him, "Um, so why did that make you look like someone killed your puppy?"

He laughs and says, "You say the funniest things sometimes, Little Bella, but to answer your question, Elijah always chooses Nik.  If Nik has a problem, Elijah is the first one there looking for a solution.  I never come first.  That's why Elijah helped dagger me so many times.  He chose our brother over me every time."

She frowns and asks the same question I would if he could hear me, "Is there something you need help with?"

Shaking his head, he tells her, "No, not at the moment but it just reminded me that I never come first with Elijah."

She wonders, _'Is there a way I can help unite the brothers?'_   An idea pops into her head so she asks, "Is there any way I can share my premonition with you?  I know from what you just said as well as the vision that there is a strain on your relationship with Elijah because he chose Nik over you repeatedly and helped him dagger you.  While I don't condone anything either of you really did in my vision, it showed me beyond a reasonable doubt that your brother loves you, and if you had died that night, he would have chosen you and then continued doing so for the rest of eternity."

He frowns but tilts his head to the side and then says, "I have a spell in one of these books," and he gets up from his chair and begins running his hand over the spines of the grimoires on the shelves in his study.

After a few minutes of searching, which takes him into his bedroom to peruse the shelves of grimoires in there, he returns to his study with a book in his hand and flips it open quickly scanning the pages until he stops and says, "Here, this shouldn't be too difficult _or_ painful."

At her dubious look when he says painful, he smiles and says, "I mentioned pain because I have another book with a similar spell that would cause us both tremendous pain but essentially give us the same result.  This spell, however, should let me see everything you saw through your eyes without causing either of us any pain."

My grandbaby thinks if it weren't for The Truth Spell she wouldn't entirely and completely trust him yet, but she also believes that after everything with her dad and Abby that she's only a day or two away from getting there. 

The truth is she's already been there for a while she just hasn't realized it yet.  Still, she decides to take what to her is a surprisingly ridiculously small leap of faith that what he believes is, in fact, true because although he's glowing green, The Truth Spell only tells her if someone is lying based on what _they_ know to be the truth.  If what they believe is wrong they would still glow green because so far as they know, they're telling the truth, so she holds her hand out. 

He hands her the book open to the necessary spell, and I read it over her shoulder while she reads.  He's right.  It should be easy, and nothing about it suggests that it will cause either of them any pain.

She reads the list of ingredients, and then even though she's sure he has the ingredients in his cabinet she does the Teleportation Spell he and Rebekah helped her write to teleport the necessary herbs still in their little jars, her Athamé, and her Boline Knife off her new bookshelves at home and onto the floor at her feet.

He smiles and says, "Well done, Darling.  I take it this means you're willing to do the spell?"

She nods and moves the bottles to the work table he assembled for his spell work towards the corner beneath the window of his study before taking the bowl he hands her and cutting and mixing the necessary herbs.  When she gets to the part about each of them contributing blood, she pauses. 

_'Do I really want to drink his blood?  The simple answer is no.  I only drank it the day Kol walked in on my dad hitting me because I knew he wouldn't give up until I agreed.  In reality, though, I have absolutely no interest in ever drinking vampire blood, but he's helped me in many ways including, but not limited to, the fact that for the first time, possibly ever, my dad hasn't hit me in a month.  Kol's also taught me a lot in the last six weeks, not just about magick but about life, friendship, family, and a love that has spanned the centuries and endured Nik daggering his siblings multiple times.  I've been blessed to experience that familial love from the Mikaelsons first hand in the last six weeks, so I want to help Kol by strengthening and reinforcing that love, and I know if he sees what I saw, he'll forgive his brother and be on better terms with him.'_

So, she sucks it up and uses her Boline Knife to cut her palm and let some of her blood drip into the bowl.  Then she reaches for his hand, which he is already offering to her before she slices his palm allowing his blood to flow into the bowl.  When enough blood has fallen into the bowl, she mixes the potion counterclockwise nine times using her Athamé.  When she finishes, she drinks half of it and hands the original the bowl with the rest of the blood potion.  After he drinks it, he places his finger on her lips and takes her now healed hand with his other hand before he licks the remaining blood off it. 

He smirks at her and her wide eyes, and then he leads her out of the room and to his bed.  He pulls her onto the mattress with a smile on his face.  She's slightly uncomfortable if only because Jeremy is the only other person who's ever held her like this and they're in _his_ bed instead of _hers_ , the latter of which is apparently her safe place where she doesn't feel nervous about being held by Kol.

Henri is bouncing on his toes obviously excited about finally getting to see the mysterious premonition.  Finn and Freya are leaning towards the pair on the bed also naturally curious about what prompted Bonnie to make the truce with their family all those weeks ago.

When they're settled with my granddaughter laying in Kol's arms, he smiles wider and says, "Okay, _now_ say the incantation otherwise we both would have dropped where we stood, and while I can't really be hurt, you could be."

She smiles because he's in the habit of looking out for her by doing little things like that, but tells him, "Don't think I don't realize you just want me in your bed."

Her eyes get wide, and she thinks, _'Oh my God, where did the courage to say_ that _come from?'_   For his part, Kol chuckles and leans in and kisses her forehead before telling her, "More than most things, Little Bella, but for now, say the spell, and perhaps afterward I'll take you for a roll in my bed."

She blushes deeply and then puts one hand on her hip before she narrows her eyes at him and says, "Not likely Kol.  I'm a good girl.  I don't do _those_ sorts of things with bad boys like you."

He laughs again and squeezes her gently before saying, "Someday, Little Bella, you'll change your mind."

She giggles and leans up and kisses his cheek before telling him, "Well, I've never been one to say never, so we'll see."

He beams at her so getting serious again she takes a deep breath, and she whispers the words of the spell, and then both of them and the four ghosts in the room are all reliving the whole premonition in all its terrifying glory. 

Strangely this time there is more details and scenes we didn't see the first time like her friends and her searching for Silas and the Cure on the island and her own death. 

In the first premonition, we mostly only saw those things that directly related to Kol and what he was doing.  This time, however, well, I'm glad Elena isn't seeing this because she would be able to get to the tomb on her own if she saw what we're watching right now. 

I'm also glad that Silas' Tomb Stone is in Kol's possession because I'm certain it would take a miracle to discover whatever safe place he's hidden it in.  Bonnie worried when he first suggested a few weeks ago that she move Atticus' things into his house, but she quickly realized it all being in her dad's house put him in danger.  Whereas the books and artifacts she got from Atticus being in the Mikaelson home not only better protect the items, but it also doesn't put anyone except those hunting for the objects into any danger. 

The good news is Elena isn't seeing this premonition and if Bonnie gets her way she never will.  She thinks perhaps she's not a particularly good friend because not only is she keeping the location of The Cure to herself now but she's also keeping to herself the fact that she has the spell to reverse vampirism in one of Qetsiyah's books.  Either way you look at it, she's willfully not allowing her childhood best friend to return to her human state of being.

My thoughts drift from Elena and her overwhelming desire to become human again and float back onto what I'm seeing because we still see everything from the original premonition too, so Kol is seeing everything my granddaughter wished for him to see. 

When the part we already saw is over it keeps going and shows us what happened to the Mikaelson children after Damon and Elena were dead, and my precious girl was right.  Elijah chose Kol and continued doing so for the rest of eternity.  Niklaus and Rebekah picked him, too.  In fact, his death made them all realize that they were all they had and that they should treat each other better.

Once Damon and Elena were dead Elijah and Kol heard of the first three of the Mikaelson’s progeny conspiring against them, and they went and dealt with them.  In the process of battling them, the Mikaelsons resurrected Kol into his original body, but they did a spell that Lucien commissioned for himself, and Kol became an upgraded original of sorts.  We see in great detail the spell that will allow all the Mikaelsons to become upgraded originals, and I smirk while Bonnie and Kol both pay close attention to the spell’s details, instinctively knowing it’s important and that they might need it later.

Bonnie comes back to herself when the premonition ends after the Mikaelsons defeat Tristan, Lucien, and Aurora, and looks over at the clock to see that this time three hours have passed instead of 27 minutes like the first time.  That makes sense because we saw far more of the days following Kol's death than we did the first time.

Freya, Finn, Henri, and Kol are all quiet.  Bonnie looks at Kol's face, and he has tears on his cheeks.  Rolling over within the confines of his arms she reaches up wiping his tears away before he whispers, "He really chose me… _repeatedly!_ They _all_ did."

She nods and tells him, "Yes they did, and we know it would have happened because everything leading up to our truce happened exactly like it did in the vision.  All three of your siblings would have chosen you over everyone else, and from what I could glean they did so for not only 144 years, but for centuries after that which leads me to believe that they really would have done it until The End of Days." 

With her hand resting on his cheek, she tells him with conviction, "Your brothers and sister love you, Kol.  They may not have chosen you in the past, but what little I know from Caroline, Elena, and 'Bekah about what you all went through with your father, well, that leads me to believe Elijah and Nik's actions were more out of fear for your continued safety.  And not just _your_ continued safety, but the continued safety of all of you, not just one of you.”

She strokes his cheek and says, “I don’t think it was an indication of an actual preference for one of you over the other.  Elena and 'Bekah both led me to believe that Elijah felt responsible for Nik because he didn't help your brother when your mother cursed him.  His guilt at letting one of you down is why Elijah tried to help Nik every time since, but I think he also felt responsible for you and Beks, and while Elijah definitely made bad decisions where you're concerned, I'm confident he did so with the best of intentions.”

She brushes his tears away with her thumb and tells him, “Then there is Nik who spent the last thousand years terrified that Mikael would get lucky just once and he’d lose one or all of you forever.  He’d have rathered cart you all around in boxes and get you back periodically than lose you all forever.  In the premonition, he saw what the world would be like without you in it, and he hated it with every fiber of his being, and that’s why he gave up his body so you could get your revenge because he was reminded of what you all had been fighting for in the first place.”

She cups his cheek again and meets his eyes before telling him, “They may not make the right choices all the time, but I’m confident that they always make those choices based on what they think will protect _all_ of you from not just Mikael but your other enemies, too."

Kol nods and tells her, "I think you might be right about that, Little Bella.  Thank you.  It seems I once again owe you."

She smiles and kisses his cheek again, "That was on the house, Sparkle Pants.  After all, you've helped me far more since we struck our deal than what I just did for you now."

Finn shakes his head and says, "They've helped each other, but now I understand fully why she was so willing to keep Ms. Gilbert from becoming human again.  If I had been in her shoes, I would have done the same thing she did."

I nod, and so do Freya and Henri.

After Bonnie finishes speaking, she pauses, kisses his cheek again, pats his chest, and then gets up off the bed prompting him to pout and ask, "Not interested in that roll in my bed now that the spell is finished?"

We all laugh, and she shakes her head before getting serious and telling him, "I was serious when I told Caroline that I'm waiting for it be real and forever.  I deserve better than settling for less than that, so I just won't settle, even if I am pretty sure doing _that_ sort of thing with you would be the most fun I could ever have.  Besides, I don’t need a public ceremony, but I do want vows and a permanent commitment made before God before I go sleeping with a guy."

He smiles gently at her and with equally soft eyes he tells her, "You _do_ deserve better than settling, so I'll wait for you to realize that I'm the one for you.  You're right, though, you'll never have more fun than when you finally admit the truth and give into me."

She blushes more deeply but laughs to hide the fact that his words give her a thrill that she thinks they really shouldn't give her.  She wonders, _'Could he maybe want me as much as I'm beginning to admit I want him?'_   Still laughing lightly, she tells him, "Keep telling yourself that Kol."

He nods and tells her, "Oh I will, and someday soon you'll tell me the same thing."

She internally scoffs at that, _'Yeah, so not happening.  Even if I were to sleep with him, I'd never tell him how good he is because he's got a big enough ego as it is and doesn't need me adding to the size of his head.'_

She still laughs though and then tells him, "Careful Kol or your head won't fit through your bedroom door."

He laughs at that and gets up off the bed before swaggering towards her.  When he's in front of her, he stops, and she suddenly finds the floor remarkably interesting because it was far easier to joke with him when he was all the way over there and not right in front of her within touching distance. 

He reaches out and tips her chin up so he can look into her eyes.  He smiles at the blush darkening her cheeks.  When her hazel eyes meet his chestnut orbs, hers widen because there is some unknown emotion swimming behind his eyes and although she doesn't know what emotion it is its presence sends warm fuzzy feelings spreading out from her chest and enveloping her whole body. 

Smiling gently, he tells her, "All teasing aside, Bonnie, all you have to do is say the word, and I'm yours."

Her eyes widen even more at his words.  She thinks, _'He's not serious, is he?'_   She looks deep into his chocolate eyes and then she takes an involuntary step backward when she realizes he's completely serious.  He's just waiting for her to make a move and has been for some time. 

She wonders, _'Um, wow.  Do I want to make a move?  God, yes, but, he's Kol Mikaelson, and although I know for certain he cares for me I don't want to be just another notch on his very full bedpost.  Maybe someday I'll get the courage to act on my desires, but for now, I'm too scared he'd have his fun and then drop me like a hot potato.'_  

That fear is slowly but surely shrinking, but it's still big enough to keep her from reacting to his words how she really wants to, which is to stretch up on her tiptoes and kiss him silly.  Instead, she steps into his personal space and stretches up onto her toes and kisses his cheek before stepping back and telling him, "I'll keep that in mind, Sparkle Pants."

Kol smiles and says, "You do that, Little Bella, because I'm waiting on you, and I'll be here and ready whenever you are."

She doesn't want to talk about this anymore right now, so she nods once before turning and heading back over into the study and sitting down to continue reading about our family line.


	14. An Invitation, Part One

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**Author's Note:**   So, I don't recall the details of Finn's death in Season 03 of TVD other than that Matt was the one who acted as bait and staked him, and that Sage and her progeny died when they came to kill the Mystic Falls Gang a few hours later.  Therefore, I have made stuff up regarding Finn's death and the events that followed.  I hope you all don't mind because my version fits in better with this overall story.

**______________________________________________________________________________**

**Chapter 014**

**An Invitation, Part One**

**______________________________________________________________________________**

**Wednesday, January 19, 2011, about 2:20 p.m.**

**Mystic Falls High School**

**______________________________________________________________________________**

Five days after Bonnie showed Kol her premonition, Rebekah is hurrying outside of school at the end of the day to meet Bonnie so that Bonnie can drive them both home because there is no Cheer Practice today and she drove them to school this morning. 

When we get closer to my granddaughter, Rebekah pulls up short and stops about 50 feet away because Bonnie's 'old' friends are stomping towards her obviously ready for a fight. 

Rebekah doesn't want to interfere because she knows Elena well enough by now to know that she would make a big deal of her standing beside Bonnie to show my grandbaby her silent support so instead, Rebekah stands and watches from her spot off to the side.  

She sighs and wishes Bonnie could put this off a little longer, but we both know she needs to deal with them sooner rather than later, so Rebekah silently says a quick prayer, _'Please, God, don't let this end badly for Bonnie.'_

For her part Bonnie also realizes that she needs to deal with Stefan and Elena, so she sucks it up, straightens her back, and holds her head up high while she waits for them to stop in front of her. 

They stop a few feet away from her, and Elena says, "Bon, we need to talk."

Bonnie sighs again but tells her, "Okay, so talk, but make it fast because I'm actually waiting for someone."

Elena scowls and with a decided attitude asks, "You mean Rebekah?  What's up with you and her?  Suddenly she's your new best friend.  I mean you've even been eating with her at lunch and just hanging out.  Your mom and dad said you're hardly ever home, and I've seen your car parked in the Mikaelson's driveway most days."

She what?  Bonnie asks the question I'd ask, "How did you see my car unless you drove there specifically to see if I was there because they live on the outskirts of town and not near anywhere you usually go."

Elena frowns and tells her, " _So_ not the point Bonnie.  They're brainwashing you, and you're letting them do it."

Um, the fact that she's stalking her former best friend should be the point, however, brainwashing?  That's what she's going with?  That crap and forced compulsion don't work on witches anyway, but my granddaughter doesn't bother telling them that because I know she's told them all a million times already. 

Still, I do frown before Bonnie also frowns and tells Elena, "They're not brainwashing me.  I just finally took my head out of my ass and stopped relying on everyone else to form my opinions for me."

I hold in my laughter at that statement, took her head out of her ass indeed.  Bonnie's not done though so I focus on her words while she tells her ex-friend, "Look, I get that you don't like the Mikaelsons, and that's your prerogative.  However, if you stop and think about it only Nik has attacked any of us unprovoked, so the only one any of us should have issues with is Nik.”

She crosses her arms over her chest and says, “Now I decided to give him a second chance to prove himself worthy of my not trying to kill him, and so far, he's not made me regret the decision to give him that opportunity.  The rest, however, haven't done anything to us that we didn't deserve or wasn't absolutely necessary for their continued survival, so I see no problem getting to know the people they actually are instead of just assuming they're monsters."

Elena huffs and asks, "Do you hear yourself?  They've tried to kill us, and Klaus is Nik now?"

Ignoring her question about what she calls Niklaus, Bonnie also ignores the glare Elena is giving her and tells her, "Nik is the only one who actively tried to kill any of us.  Well, that is except for Beks, but her trying to kill you the first time was justified because you literally stabbed her in the back and killed her after pretending to be her friend, and the second time was the only way to save all vampires everywhere."

Elena huffs again and asks, "Well what about Kol, he compelled Damon to kill Jer and then settled for chopping off Jer's arms."

Bonnie nods and tells the ever-petulant Elena, "I know.  I was there, and for the record, if you hadn't been so gung-ho about getting the bloody cure, Kol would have left both of you alone, but he wasn't willing to risk you raising Silas and ending the world just so _you_ could be human again."

Elena's lip quivers before she says, "You know I never wanted to be a vampire, and I have Rebekah to thank for my being one."

Sadly, she really believes that because I see through Rebekah's eyes that she's still glowing green.  In fact, the green glow hasn't left her since she started talking, so she truly feels that Bonnie is making the biggest mistake of her life. 

Still, my granddaughter shakes her head, "No you have Esther, Meredith, and Stefan to thank for you being a vampire.  The only way to stop Ric from killing all vampires everywhere, including your ex-boyfriend and your current boyfriend not to mention Care, was to kill him, and the only way to do that was to kill _you_.  If Beks had gotten her way, you would have stayed dead, but Meredith saw fit to inject you with vampire blood without asking you for permission.  Then Stefan was stupid or foolish enough to listen to you when you told him to save Matt first." 

Nothing my very smart grandbaby just said is untrue, but Rebekah finds herself once again impressed by Bonnie.  She's looking beyond The Original Family's actions to see the deeper reason, and she's given them all a second chance to prove themselves to her, for which Rebekah will be eternally grateful. 

Rebekah smirks when Bonnie turns and looks at Stefan before asking, "Who lets the girl they supposedly love die so that they can save her friend first?  I mean _really_ , who does _that_?  Damon would have let Matt die, and he freely admits that, and if it had been him who found them, Elena would still be human." 

She turns back to Elena and finishes by telling her, "Anyway, it's Esther, Meredith, and Stefan you really should be turning your anger on.  And face it, Elena, you may not have _wanted_ to become a vampire, I get that, and I sympathize, but you _are_ a vampire now, and there is no changing that, so you should just work on accepting it instead of wishing it wasn't true.  No amount of wishing will change it."

Elena puts her hands on her hips and sneers before she tells Bonnie, "I could change it if we found The Cure."

Stubborn, pigheaded, annoying brat that she is she's not listening to a word my granddaughter has said since the night she showed up at the Gilbert's house and stopped Elena from making the biggest mistake of all their lives. 

Still, the girl used to be Bonnie's best friend, so she tries reaching her again, "Ugh, hello, getting The Cure would wake Silas and cause the end of the world, so you'd be human for like ten minutes, and then you and everyone else would be dead.  Besides my premonition showed that a hunter would use The Cure for its intended purpose and kill Silas with it, so you would have still been a vampire and everyone you love would have died.   Are you really willing to sacrifice everyone you claim to love just for a small chance at being human again?  If you are, then you're not the girl I thought you were, now if you'll excuse me, I see Beks, and we have plans."

When Bonnie begins walking past Elena her hand shoots out and grabs Bonnie's arm.  My baby girl looks down at Elena's hand squeezing her arm while her eyes narrow due to the pain shooting from where Elena's hand is gripping her, radiating up and down her arm. 

I can tell from where I'm standing that if Elena squeezes much harder, she's going to snap Bonnie's bone in two, so my grandbaby looks up at her former friend's scowling face and tells her, "You're hurting me, Elena.  Remove your hand from my arm, or I will protect myself and hurt you."

Thankfully Caroline steps in and says, "Let her go, Elena."

Elena jumps back and releases her arm faster than Bonnie can see with her human eyes as if burned by a hot stove.  She reacted instinctively without giving thought to the fact that they're at school and moving at vampire speed where all the students can see is not the best idea. 

Elena's brown eyes are wide while she looks at Bonnie hard for a second or two before she steps back more at a human pace and says, "Fine, but don't come running to us when you discover that they're really the monsters we know them to be."

Bonnie sighs and tells her, "Fine, if I'm wrong, I won't come running to you."

Stefan chooses that moment to butt in, "You can't trust them, Bonnie.  My experiences with them in the 20's prove that.  They're vicious vampires who reveled in my being a ripper." 

That's bullshit, and he's glowing yellow, so he's not entirely convinced and is bending the truth to suit his needs.

My granddaughter frowns and looks at him standing between her and Rebekah before she tells him, "So did _you_ , but you claim you've changed your ways, so we trust you and let you into our lives.  If _you_ can change your ways, so can _they_ , and you can't have it both ways Stefan, either not all vampires are evil, or they _all_ are, but _you_ don't get to pick and choose who gets the opportunity to prove themselves worthy of _my_ friendship."

She pauses, then when he looks to be getting ready to argue the point, Bonnie beats him to the punch and says, "Fact of the matter is, they've hurt me a whole heck of a lot less than you, Damon, and Elena have, so don't throw stones in a glass house or you might shatter the house.  Now kindly get out of my way before I move you myself."

While Stefan moves out of her way, Elena says, "They're just using you for your magick, Bonnie.  That's the only reason they're acting like they're your friends."

Okay, so she doesn't know that the originals have their own magick, but still, her statement makes little to no sense, so Bonnie turns back and looks at her with wide eyes then she asks, "Seriously?" 

She pauses waiting for a response, but when none is forthcoming, and Elena just scowls at her, Bonnie tells her, "You know, I've done countless spells for all of you including those rings you and Caroline are wearing.  I’ve also done dark spells to help you all even causing Grams to be punished because I put _you_ above all else and did the dark spell anyway despite Grams' warnings.  On the other hand, the only original who has asked me to do a spell for him is Nik, and the first time he wanted me to undo the linking spell to protect himself and his siblings, which wouldn’t have been necessary if we weren't trying to kill them.  Then the second time he just wanted to stay alive and then have me put him back into his own body, so if we're keeping a tally, you all are the ones who use me for my magick more than they do.”

She crosses her arms over her chest again and says, “I mean think about it, they're The Freaking Originals.  If they need a witch, they can easily find one to do whatever they want.  In fact, according to other witches I've spoken to, 99.99% of witches the world over would bend over backward to help the originals without any threats of violence from either side.  Therefore, the Mikaelsons have no need to pretend to be my friend just so I will do magick for them, which for the record I've only done a single spell for any of them since we made our truce, and that was last Friday after I offered to do it without any prompting.  Now, if you're done throwing around baseless, fact-less accusations, 'Bekah finally finished reading The Twilight Saga, and I promised to watch the first movie with her today."

Bonnie walks away from her old friends without bothering to look back at them while they scowl at her back.  Holding her head up high she fights the tears that she wants to keep at bay until she can get in the car and drive away, so her 'friends' won't know they upset her so much.

When Bonnie reaches her, Rebekah takes one look at her eyes getting ready to overflow with tears and sticks out her hand saying, "Give me your keys Bon, you're in no state to drive."

She just nods and gives her friend the keys while they walk to her car.  About halfway there Bonnie whispers, "Thank you for not getting involved in that whole scene."

Rebekah nods and says just as quietly, "I was fairly certain my sticking my nose in your business would only make matters worse though I did spend the whole time imagining ripping their heads off every time they said something mean or untrue.  The fact is, you are one of the most sensible, reliable, honest, and dependable people I've ever had the privilege of knowing.  It amazes me that they don't seem to realize that you have a good head on your shoulders.  Except for that predator, the professor, you can and have been perfectly capable of making or forming healthy decisions and opinions about people and situations.  Let's face it, in the long run, you made the right choice where he was concerned, too, it just took you a little longer to actually listen to your perfectly healthy instincts.  Anyway, thank you for giving us a chance even though it appears to be costing you your friendships with the others."

It may very well be ruining my granddaughter's friendships with her childhood friends, or friend at least, but my baby girl thinks, _‘What I’m gaining from my relationships with the Mikaelsons is worth so much more.  They respect me and value my opinion in ways no one else, except Jeremy and maybe Damon, despite his sarcastic veneer, ever has.  They listen when I just need to vent, and they only offer advice if I ask for it.  They seem to genuinely enjoy just hanging out with me, and none of us absolutely need to fill the silence if we don't want to.’_  

She's genuinely comfortable with The Original Family in ways I don't think she ever has been with anyone else except maybe Jeremy and Caroline.  Unlike Caroline, the Mikaelsons understand the meaning of the word discretion, so my grandbaby smiles slightly and tells Rebekah, "First, Jer is still cool and supporting me though he encourages me to be cautious.  Kol basically does the same thing, and they actually pretty much go about it the same way, too.”

My grandbaby glances at Rebekah, who nods so Bonnie tells her, “Second, did you notice that Caroline didn't say a word throughout that whole scene except to defend me when Elena was squeezing my arm?  I know her well enough to know that means she doesn't agree with anything they said, or she would have made her agreement known and loudly at that.  Plus, she and Jer wouldn't have spent the holidays at your house if they agreed with anything Elena and Stefan are peddling.”

She grins even though her eyes are still filling with tears and tells Rebekah, “Besides, when I'm not at your house, I'm usually at hers.  Other than the holiday, when she and Jer hung out with your family and me, I've hung out with her or talked to her on the phone just about every night since she apologized for spilling my secrets to Nik and Tyler.  She's had ample opportunity to lecture me about the wrong turn I'm taking, and she hasn't even hinted that she feels that way.”

Bonnie glances at Rebekah again and tells her, “Make no mistake, she doesn't have a shy bone in her body when it comes to expressing her opinions, so I'd know if she thought I was making stupid choices or taking unnecessary risks.  She also wouldn't have come over to your house for Christmas _or_ New Year's Eve if she thought you were a threat to us.”

Rebekah smiles and nods again so Bonnie shrugs and says, “I expect as soon as she gets away from Elena and Stefan she'll call and tell me that she still thinks I should be careful and cautious but that she supports my decisions, or at least I hope so anyway."

Rebekah smiles softly while they get into the car and she drives them towards her house. 

Once she's safely in the vehicle, Bonnie lets the tears flow, and she smiles slightly through her tears when Rebekah pulls into the cemetery, parks the car, and then just sits letting her cry it all out.  She reaches over and holds Bonnie's hand, and I know my grandbaby appreciates the silent support holding her hand conveys. 

She's grateful, though, that Rebekah doesn't offer meaningless platitudes because losing your childhood best friend sucks any way you look at it.  Nothing the blonde says is going to change that, and Rebekah not only knows that but she understands that Bonnie doesn't want pretty lies but rather the ugly truth, no matter how painful that truth might be. 

When Bonnie finally calms down Rebekah hands her a tissue from the box in the backseat and picks up Bonnie's purse from the floor and hands it to her.  She smiles gently and tells my baby girl, "I really need to figure out why that make-up spell I'm working on still comes out so heavy because this is a classic example of a girl needing not to have runny make-up all over her tear-streaked face."

My granddaughter giggles while she takes her purse from her before Rebekah says, "You better clean your face, or Kol will take one look at you and know you've been crying, and I don't even want to think about what he would be willing to do to avenge you even if you are physically unhurt."

She brushes her hand against the spot where she can smell Bonnie's jasmine scented blood pooling just below the surface of her skin on her upper arm despite Bonnie wearing a jacket and says, "Well, mostly anyhow."

Bonnie nods then she flips down the visor and looks in the mirror, and she whispers, "Yikes my face really is a mess."

Rebekah giggles and nods because her mascara is running all over her face and her foundation has noticeable track marks where her tears ran down her cheeks.  The only part of her face that's not completely messed up is her lips, so Bonnie uses a makeup remover wipe she takes out of her purse and removes all her makeup before putting her mascara and lip gloss back on, but she doesn't bother with the rest.

When she's finished she turns and looks at Rebekah, so the older girl smiles and says, "Perfect, now when we get home, stay down in the den with me for the length of the movie, and if we're lucky, the scent of your tears will drift away enough that Kol won't notice it." 

Honestly, I think that's wishful thinking because his senses are only second to Niklaus' hybrid senses and even then, it's a near thing, but my baby girl nods, willing to try.  Rebekah smiles back, and then she pulls out of the cemetery and heads to her house. 

When they get there, they spend two hours watching Twilight.  Although she's seen it a million times with Caroline, Bonnie seems to still have fun because Rebekah finds the whole thing hilarious.  She spends the entire movie telling Bonnie how unrealistic everything is and pretty much making her laugh the whole time, especially with her disparaging comments about the Cullen's chosen diet. 

When the credits roll Rebekah laughs and tells my granddaughter, "Seriously Bonnie, we had to eat bunnies and deer once about 950 years ago while we played cat and mouse with Mikael.  Never again.  Completely ignoring that it tastes disgusting and incredibly bitter, I could feel the fur in my teeth for over a week afterward.  No matter how many times I cleaned my teeth, the feeling would not go away.  Let me tell you it is not a pleasant sensation at all.  In fact, I think the only sensation that might be worse is burning up in the sun."

Frowning Bonnie asks, "Have you actually burned up in the sun?"

Rebekah frowns back and tells her, "Right after we finished the transition I tried to go outside into the daylight.  It took a minute for me to notice, and then all I could feel was the pain.  I still don't think I've ever moved as fast as I did at that moment when I ran back into our hut.  So, I can honestly say death by the sun is incredibly painful and it takes longer than you would think because I watched other vampires die that way when we met The Original Five.  It could take up to ten whole minutes for one of them to finally die and unlike most popular TV shows or movies, Twilight notwithstanding, they don't turn into a pile of dust.  They're just a corpse burnt beyond any recognition, and I think a medical examiner today would be hard pressed to prove the vampire wasn't the victim of a fire or explosion."

Bonnie's eyes are wide when she mouths the word, 'Wow,' and clearly wonders what she should say to that.  She sits for a minute then she smiles and chooses good humor mixed with blunt honesty before she tells Rebekah, "Well I for one am incredibly grateful you managed to move out of the sunlight fast enough to prevent you from dying."

Rebekah frowns and says, "The older a vampire is, the faster they burn.  I've personally watched while two of my brothers took off their rings at various points while out in the sun, so I know that they immediately caught fire and that due to there being a lot of fuel present they literally acted as the fuse for an explosion.  It's a favorite clean-up solution of Elijah's.  I think he and Kol both use the pain they feel when they do that as their form of penance for whatever sins they've just committed and covered up.  Anyway, the point is, even though it hurts like you wouldn't believe, it won't kill my siblings or me.  Nothing but the White Oak Stake can actually kill us, but you already knew that."

Still frowning Bonnie reaches out and places her hand over Rebekah's on her knee and tells her, "That reminds me, I wanted to apologize for my role in Finn's death.  I know he was trying to kill you guys, but he was still your brother, and I know this doesn't take away or change what we did, but I am sorry that our actions caused you and your brothers’ pain."

Rebekah smiles because she knows far more about Bonnie's involvement in Finn's death or the lack thereof than my grandbaby knows, so she says, "Thank you.  Although I heard enough of you yelling at your friends right after it happened to know that that was another instance of them not consulting you first and you loudly disapproving when they finally told you what they had done.  So, I know it wasn't really your fault."

Bonnie's wide hazel eyes again clearly say, _'Wait, she heard that?'_   So, Rebekah just nods and tells her, "Nik, Elijah, and I came to kill all of you.  We heard enough to know that you and Caroline were not only not present when it happened but completely in the dark about the plan.  We also heard that you both strongly disagreed with their decision _and_ that you both figured they had signed all of your death warrants.  Really, they had until we saw how upset you and Caroline were over our brother's death."

Bonnie opens her mouth though she appears not to know what to say, so Rebekah saves her from having to say anything when she holds up her hand and tells her, "I know that Matt acted as bait and induced Finn into attacking him.  I also know that Matt was wholly aware that he was actually being used as bait.  So, I blame Elena and Stefan, who came up with the plan, and Matt, who carried the plan out, as well as Damon and my brother's annoying hybrid, who both also assisted with the plan.  I don't actually blame Jeremy, because he was in Colorado with Kol at the time and completely oblivious, or you and Caroline because none of you were actual participants in Finn's death or even aware that he was actually in any danger."

Bonnie nods but then she takes a deep breath and asks a question she thinks she might not want to know the answer to, "Um, not that I'm complaining, because, really I'm not, but why didn't you kill those who _were_ responsible.  I mean not killing Caroline, Jer and me makes sense because I now know you knew more than we all thought you did, but why did you spare the others.  You were all well within your rights to avenge Finn's death."

Rebekah nods and flips her hand in Bonnie's before she squeezes her hand in her own.  After a minute of just holding hands, Rebekah tells her, "Two reasons, sort of, one, Finn was, due to Esther's compulsion, trying to kill us, and your friends killing him prevented him from being successful.  None of us would have been able to bring ourselves to kill him, so your friends really did us a favor.  Though the part of us that still loved him despite his supposed betrayal would have happily killed your friends.  We knew it would upset Caroline, Jeremy, and you, though, and even at that point Nik and Kol were smitten with both of you.  Plus, Kol by that point, and still to this day, considers Jeremy to be his friend so they would not have done something that would harm you three emotionally such as killing your best friends or only surviving family if they could help it.  The only reason Kol made a move against Jeremy six weeks ago was the genuine threat of Silas rising.  Even then he set out to cut off your friend's arms instead of outright killing him not just for fear of The Hunter's Curse but also because he didn't actually want Jeremy dead."

Bonnie nods and then jumps when the DVD player pops the DVD tray out of itself.  Rebekah laughs at her, and then she asks, "Can we watch the second one later?"

My grandbaby smiles and nods, so Rebekah says, "Okay, then go say hello to Kol because I'm sure he's been waiting to see you all day.  I'll come and get you later for us to watch New Moon."

Bonnie nods again and gets up before walking up the stairs and down the hallways towards Kol's room.

Bonnie knocks on Kol's bedroom door, but she doesn't hear a response, so she slowly opens the door and sticks her head inside the room before she calls out, "Kol?  Are you here?  Can I come in?"

His voice carries from his study when he raises it slightly and tells her, "Come in, Darling."

She smiles and breathes a sigh of relief before she walks into his bedroom and over to the door of his study where he's bent over several books that he's been reading while he waited for his sister and Bonnie to finish watching their movie. 

He looks like he's deeply engrossed in working on something, so she thinks, _‘Maybe I should just say hi and then leave him be so he can finish whatever he's working on.’_

He jots a last note down in his grimoire and then looks up and over at her standing in the doorway.  She smiles when he pauses and looks her over.  She gets a thrill when his eyes rove over her, and his evident appreciation shines brightly in his eyes. 

She's never doubted that he thinks she's pretty.  It always fills her with this emotion she hasn't been able to name when his eyes travel over her body, and he smiles like he is right now.  His smile and his eyes tell her that he's always thought that her natural beauty is even more stunning than the beauty she shows the world with her make-up on. 

That is still true now that he's looking at her with most of her make-up missing.  She tenses, though, waiting for him to question why she's not wearing her usual make-up because he knows her and her habits well enough to know that she wouldn't have gone to school with only mascara and lip gloss on.  She knows the fact that she has no foundation, eyeshadow, eyeliner, or blush on is significant to him and adds to his curiosity. 

He frowns and asks what I know has been bothering him since she walked into his house and the scent of her tears, however faint it might have been, reached him while she was still downstairs, "Little Bella, you've been crying, what happened?"

Her eyes widen, and she had hoped the fact that she hadn't cried in a little under three hours would keep him from knowing.  She even made sure not to cry while in the house, so he wouldn't worry.  Still, she sniffles while she shuffles her feet and looks at the ground. 

He heard her entire time with Rebekah, so he knows nothing happened here between the two of them throughout the movie, just the opposite, in fact.  Still, he asks, "Did Rebekah…?"

Bonnie quickly shakes her head, and he sighs in relief, though that also tells him that he's not going to like what she says next because there are only a handful of other people besides his family members who would have enough access to her to cause her to cry.  

Still, he does a decent job of schooling his features hiding his impending upset before she tells him, "It wasn't her, it was my other friends.  They ambushed me and said that you and your family are brainwashing me.  I'm actually surprised Beks didn't try to rip off their heads right there in the middle of the quad."

She's not stupid.  My granddaughter knows that if it wouldn't have broken the truce that is so important to _her_ , Rebekah probably would have torn the others to shreds.  Kol nods lazily, though, and asks, "Do you want to talk about it?"

She smiles but shakes her head, so he tells her, "If you change your mind, you let me know, okay?"

She nods and grins slightly while she plays with the fingers of her clasped hands before looking at him and saying, "I love that about you and your family, Kol.  You guys ask if I want to talk about something.  You don't just assume I do or don't want to talk.  You ask me, and then you respect my answer.  Thank you for that."

He smiles and nods before telling her, "You're very welcome.  You do the same for us, so it's only fair.  Anyway, in the meantime, come and see what I've written.  I'm fairly certain it will work as I intend it to."

She walks over and giggles when he pulls her onto his lap, ostensibly so she can see the book better.  Really, she's on to him.  He's been slowly encroaching on her personal space more and more to get her comfortable with him and his being close to her and touching her. 

She's not entirely sure why he's doing that, but she knows he's definitely doing it, and it seems to be working as he had hoped it would, but she flinches when his hand brushes over the hand shaped bruise on her arm.  She thinks, _'Damn, I should have kept my jacket on, but then again he probably would have noticed that too because he's so damn observant.'_

Kol's voice is carefully neutral when he asks, "Who gave you this?"

While she turns her face to look at him over her shoulder, she frowns and tells him, "Don't be mad."

He pushes his chair back from the desk slightly and turns her, so she's sitting on his knee with her legs between his two spread legs.  He cups her chin in his big hand before he looks her in the eyes and says, "I'm not angry with you."

She nods and then while she looks down she tells him in a small trembly voice that she hates hearing come out of her own mouth, "I know that's what I'm afraid of."

It's not that she doesn't trust him not to run off and slaughter her friends.  It's just that he's already stayed his hand once with her father and she really doesn't want to push his restraint beyond what it can handle, and like I said a while ago his instinct is to hurt back anyone who dares to harm her, and she knows that even if only subconsciously.

Kol, on the other hand, thinks it's still too soon to expect complete trust from her especially with their 'families' given histories together, but that's not it.  She trusts him not to hurt her friends and family if they don't harm him, his family, _or her_ first. 

If they make the first move against any of them though, then yeah, she doesn't entirely trust him not to strike back.  In fact, she's sure his first instinct is to hit back as quickly and lethally as possible. 

She knows the miracle it is that Rudy is still alive.  It's also a miracle that Elena and Stefan left this house on New Year’s Eve after Elena stabbed Kol, and Bonnie's not so sure he is going to be willing to extend that restraint towards Elena a second time.

Although he's frowning, he gently asks her, "You're afraid I'll go hurt whoever put that bruise on your arm?"

My precious girl nods slightly before her lip trembles so he tightens his hold on her hip and uses his other hand to softly stroke her cheek while he tells her, "Oh, Little Bella, I wouldn't harm them for this.  Even though that's only because I know it would hurt you more, it's still true.  If I didn't kill your father for striking you so hard, he broke your cheekbone, or Ms. Gilbert for stabbing me with the White Oak Ash Dagger then I'm not going to kill whoever grabbed you hard enough to cause a bruise." 

He's glowing green, so she knows everything he just said _is_ true.  She also knows he's been giving her friends, or more specifically, Elena and Stefan, free passes and ignoring how upset they've been making her.  Of course, she's still not stupid, so she knows doing so has been much easier because her former friend's adverse reactions to her and her decisions have only driven her closer to him and his family.

He smiles slightly while she nods and then tells him, "Elena grabbed me.  In her defense, I don't think she realized just how hard she was holding me."

He frowns but given that the brat is a baby vampire, Bonnie is probably right that Elena had no clue she was hurting her.  Plus, the compulsion Kol reinstated should have kept Elena from knowingly hurting her, so it's likely she didn't realize she was hurting my grandbaby.

He looks into her worried eyes and smiles while he continues to stroke her cheek and tells her, "Okay, thank you for trusting me with that information."

She nods at him and then she turns back to the book in front of them, so he pushes the chair back towards the desk so that she can read the spell he's written.  She reads it, and then she glances back at him with wide eyes and then looks back at the book while she rereads it before turning to face him again and asking, "Kol, what is this?"

He smiles widely and tells her, "I _was_ actually listening every time you or Elijah lamented about how difficult young Jeremy is finding living without both of his arms.  And I'm not blind either so I could see it clearly when he was here.”

She smiles so he squeezes her hip and tells her, “I also wasn't lying to him when I told him I was looking for a way to return his arms.  I figured if I could come up with a non-dark way to give him his arms back _and_ keep The Hunter's Mark from happening then it would be perfectly safe to give him back his arms.”

He grins and says, “Elijah and Nik had the same idea and mentioned it to me, and when I told them I was already working on it they helped, too, and found a couple of other spells for me to read and get ideas from, and they both acted as a sounding board while I worked out the details.  We figure if we heal him then you can worry about him a little less."

She thinks, _'Oh my God.'_   Smiling she throws her arms around him before she kisses his cheek and says, "Oh thank you, so much.  This rocks!" 

She tells herself, _'I'll have to remember and thank Elijah and Nik too.  They've both proven to be good friends, not just to me but to Jeremy too, which I know Jeremy finds odd, but I'm beginning to realize that Elijah and Nik's worlds revolve around their loved ones and those they all care about.  Somehow Jeremy and I wound up on that very short list, and Elijah and Nik have been working hard to help Jeremy in any way they can, apparently even going so far as to ask the resident magickal genius if he had any magickal ideas for healing Jer.'_

Kol chuckles while he holds her close.  She pulls back slightly and tells him, "For the record, I've never doubted that you were listening while I was talking.  I know you usually do."

She's is fully aware that he values her and what she says.  He smiles and then tells her, "I called Jeremy, and he's expecting your call to confirm that I'm not setting a trap for him." 

After the holidays they all spent together they're both sure Jeremy was joking when he said that, so while Kol smiles at her she giggles and takes her phone out of her pocket and dials. 

Jeremy picks up, and Kol knows from the times he's hung out with him, and he's gotten phone calls that he used his nose to turn on the phone and then again to turn on the speaker-phone function.  Bonnie smiles widely and tells him, "Jer, I just read the spell that Kol wrote, and I think it'll really work and give you back your arms but keep the mark from forming so that no one gets any funny ideas about finding The Cure again."

He laughs loudly and says, "Hi Bonnie, how are you?  You're good?  Glad to hear it.  I'm good too.  Thanks for asking."

My baby girl laughs because he's right, she entirely skipped the pleasantries, but, _'_ Hello _, we might be able to give him back his arms.'_  

Still, she giggles and tells him, "Sorry, but I'm freaking excited.  I really think we can give you back your arms without risking ending the world."

I can hear the frown in his voice when he says, "I know what you've been telling me most nights since we made our truce, not to mention how he was when we spent the holidays with him and his family, but are you really sure he can be trusted?"

My grandbaby smiles and tells Jeremy, "I've checked and verified just about everything he's told me thus far.  He has yet to lie to or try to deceive me, which I know for a fact because we did that truth spell I told you about.  Though, if it makes you feel better, we can ask Abby to come over and read the spell, too, and get a second opinion before we try it."

He's silent for a minute then he says, "Okay, call her and ask, and since my nurse is currently having car troubles see if she can pick me up on the way and bring me over with her.  Text me and let me know if she says yes."

Bonnie is still smiling widely when she says, "Okay, I will.  See you soon."

She hangs up and calls Abby who quickly agrees to not only come over and read the spell and supervise the casting of it but to also pick Jeremy up on the way over, so she texts him, and then we wait.

About five minutes into waiting, Kol's phone rings.  He takes it out of his pocket and looks at the Caller ID, and then he tells his love, "It's Elijah," before he hits send and says, "Brother, what can I do for you?"  The younger original is clueless because he spoke to his brother a few hours ago so unless something has happened, he has no idea why the older man is calling him.

I frown when Elijah confirms his brother's suspicion by saying, "Kol, something happened." 

He wonders, _'Are Hayley and the baby okay?'_   He barely thinks that before Elijah shocks me by saying, "Niklaus tried to dagger me, and although he hit my heart nothing happened besides it hurting."

Kol's eyes go wide, and he sits up straight and says, "What?  It didn't work?  _At all?_ " 

Elijah pauses and then says, "Not at all.  I think it's because I'm now essentially a vampire/witch hybrid.  Nothing else has changed.  The ash was the same as always, the dagger as well, and I'm certain he inserted the dagger exactly where it needed to be to work.  Are you certain Elena actually missed your heart on New Year’s Eve?"

The younger original's eyes are wide while he sits and thinks, and then the truth finally sinks in: _'Ms. Gilbert did, in fact, hit my heart, and my Little Bella inadvertently took away the one thing that could harm Elijah, 'Bekah, or me.  I control the one and only remaining White Oak Stake, and no one, except Bonnie, if she realizes I'm using the same hiding place as in her vision, knows where it's hidden, so the daggers were the only threat.  Plus, I have control over all but one dagger, though, obviously that one dagger was still a threat.'_  

If what Elijah is telling him is true, and I see no reason he would lie about it, well, they owe an enormous debt to Bonnie. 

He just sits there for a minute while he allows his world to reorder itself with this new information.  Niklaus has daggered him seven times through the years, and he's spent at least a decade daggered during every century since they learned of the daggers.   _'I've spent 401 years trapped in that damn coffin.  Now Nik can never lock me in a box again.  I will never have to abruptly adjust to the changes in the world because I've been on The Otherside for decades or even more than a century while in my box.'_

When that truth settles over him, Kol smiles and tells his brother, "I think you are correct that it did hit its mark.  I also think you, Rebekah, and I need to come up with something really nice to give to Bonnie as a way of saying thank you because while giving us back our magick was pretty huge and significant, this, well _this_ is amazing."

Bonnie turns her face to look at him, and she’s wearing the question of what he's talking about all over her expressive face.  He smiles back at her, and he can hear the smile in Elijah's voice when he says, "I agree, and I will think about it.  If you think about it, we can come together later and figure out what the best token of our appreciation will be."

Kol smiles wider and tells him, "I will think about it then, and I will tell Beks what happened and suggest that she think about it as well."

Elijah says, "Good, do you know yet if you, Rebekah, and Bonnie are coming down like I suggested?  After Niklaus tried to dagger me, I told him what I told you earlier, and he agrees we should all be together, and he also agrees that the 'we' in 'we all' includes Bonnie if she's willing."

I can still hear the smile in his voice when he says, "Honestly, I hope she does come because while I know she is close friends with and has a positive effect on _all_ of us, I think she has had an even more incredibly positive effect on our brother, him trying to dagger me notwithstanding."

Kol nods because he full-heartedly agrees with everything Elijah just said.  He's smiling widely at the fact that his family likes his chosen mate so much already, but he tells his brother, "I still need to talk to Bonnie and see if she's willing."

Elijah sighs and tells him, "Of course.  Not to rush you but you should do it sooner rather than later because Marcellus and his vampires, as well as the witches, are circling here.  We need to put out a united front as soon as possible because let's face it four united originals are much more intimidating than just two of us.  This is especially true given your reputation and more specifically the nature of your relationships with Marcellus _and_ the witches of New Orleans the last two times you were here.”

He pauses then continues, “Even though Niklaus is the more powerful of the two of you, physically speaking, you have put the fear of God in Marcellus' heart on more than one occasion.  As a result, I feel he is more frightened of you than Niklaus even though all it would take to kill him is a bite from our brother.  Though you are not a hybrid, or at least not a wolf hybrid, I honestly think you're the scarier of the two of you so far as Marcellus and his vampires are concerned.  I've heard whisperings about you.  Apparently, Marcellus has spoken at great length where anyone can listen of just how frightening and unhinged you actually are."

Kol laughs and tells his brother, "Good, the boy is a grade A brat and never learned his place, so he deserves to be frightened.  We offered him a position in our family, and now he has thrown that back in our faces and harmed those I provided my protection to so I will have no problem reigniting his fear of me.  I will avenge the hundreds of witches he's killed solely because they were witches.  I knew and counted most of his witch victims as my friends so he and I will be having words about that at the very least.

Kol frowns and tells Elijah, "That said I am aware that time is of the essence.  There are just a few things I still need to work out with Bonnie, though, so I'll talk to you later once I know her answer."

Elijah sighs again but says, "Very well, Brother, be safe."

Kol sighs back and tells him, "And you as well, Brother," then he hangs up.

When he puts his phone down on the desk, he cups Bonnie's cheeks in his big hands and kisses her firmly yet quickly on the lips.  Her eyes widen, but they only get wider when he pulls away with a big smile and tells her, "Nik tried to dagger Elijah, and it didn't work.  In fact, nothing happened, and we both think it's because we're now essentially vampire/witch hybrids.  You took away the one threat to Elijah, Rebekah, and me with nothing but your generosity and caring for others.”

He pecks her lips again and then says, “Thank you, Bonnie, I… I don't have words to describe how much I've hated being locked in a box for decades on end and then having to wake up and realize just how much I've missed, so thank you."

She looks at him for a minute then asks, "Nik tried to dagger Elijah?"

He nods, so she asks, "And it didn't work?" 

When he nods again, she says under her breath, "Oh Holy Hell.  My friends will have fits." 

She pauses then she asks tentatively, "Nothing but the White Oak Stake can hurt you anymore?  You're safe, or as safe as you can be?  Nik can't hold it over your head anymore?"

He grins and tells her, "Based on the fact that looking back I believe Ms. Gilbert didn't actually miss my heart, yes, only the White Oak Stake is a threat now, and Elijah, Beks, and I are now just as safe from harm as Nik is.  And thanks to you, no, he can't hold it over our heads anymore."

Tears slip out of her eyes, and Kol's chestnut eyes widen in alarm until he realizes they're tears of joy when she says, "Oh thank You, God." 

He smiles at the proof that his love is obviously pleased that Nik no longer has that leverage over them.  He uses his thumbs to wipe at her tears, and then he smiles wider when she takes out her phone again and hits a speed dial number.  He has an idea who she's calling, and so do I.I realize we're right when he hears Nik pick up and say, "Luv, to what do I owe this unexpected but appreciated call?"

I chuckle softly when my grandbaby says hotly, "Niklaus Mikaelson, what the hell do you think you were doing trying to dagger Elijah?"

He lets out a heavy sigh and my time watching the Mikaelsons with my granddaughter means I know him well enough to know he's rubbing the back of his neck with his free hand while he tells her, "Luv, it's complicated."

She's scowling when she tells him, "Oh I doubt it's too complicated.  You don't go around threatening or attacking your loved ones Nik.  You better come up with a heartfelt apology and change your ways, or I'll find or personally write a nasty little curse to make you perpetually nice and put it on you myself."

Kol and I laugh softly at the palpable disgust he feels at that idea when he says, "I assure you, Luv, _that_ won't be necessary.  I will think of a way to properly make up my dodgy behavior to Elijah."

My grandbaby smiles ever so slightly before saying, "Good, you better."

Pausing a moment, Niklaus then asks, "I take it if you know I tried to dagger him, Elijah has spoken to Kol?"

Nodding she tells him, "Just now actually."

"Then I assume you know about Hayley?"

Bonnie gets a puzzled look on her face just before she asks, "Hayley?  Tyler's wolf friend that you had, um, some fun times with?  No, what's wrong with her?"

Niklaus chuckles before he tells her, "Yes, her, and nothing is wrong with her per say, but she's pregnant… with my child."

Kol and I again both laugh when Bonnie softly says, "She's what?  Oh my God," then louder she says, "Um, not to disparage her but are you sure it's yours since you're, you know, a vampire?"

Chuckling again he says, "It feels like it's of my blood, and she was glowing green when she said it couldn't possibly be anyone else's, so yes."

Her hazel eyes are still open wide when my precious girl says, "Wow, um okay, is there anything either of you need from us?"

He sighs and tells her, "If Kol has spoken to Elijah, then I'll let Kol broach that subject with you."

She frowns but says, "Um, okay?  I need to talk to you when you come back.  I found a spell I want to do for you, but I need to talk to you about it first."

I can hear him frowning when he asks, "I'm not sure I am coming back, Luv.  Can you tell me about it now?"

I realize a moment later that she's talking about the spell to make him able to create hybrids without the use of doppelgänger blood when she says, "Um I guess so.  Anyway, I was looking through one of my ancestor's books, and I found the original copy of the spell your mother placed on you to shackle your wolf side.  It told me to go looking for another book which had on one page the spell Gretta performed to give you back your wolf side and then the page after that was a spell to counteract the need for doppelgänger blood to make hybrids.”

She pauses, but Niklaus doesn’t make a sound, so she tells him, “Ayana felt very strongly that your mother was in the wrong placing the curse on you.  So, she made a point to write down the way to undo it, but she couldn't figure out a way to allow you to make hybrids without adding the loophole about the doppelgänger blood.  She figured out a way to undo that loophole once you lifted the curse itself, though, so she wrote that down and then made her daughter promise to pass the book down through the generations.  She knew one of her descendants would encounter you again and be in a position to help you.”

She stops to breathe and then when Niklaus still hasn’t said anything, she tells him, “I don't know if you hold any anger towards Ayana, but she appears to have truly sympathized with you, and I think she genuinely wanted to help you right the wrongs your bitch of a mother committed against you."

She pauses and then tells him, "Anyway, essentially the spell would make you able to create hybrids without needing to feed them doppelgänger blood.  I think this is why your aura still has a few holes in it.  If we do this spell, it should fill them up completely and then we won't have to worry about anyone getting any funny ideas about using the holes against you.  Incidentally, it'll also make it so that if you feed your blood to a vampire, such as your siblings, then they would be permanently immune to the effects of wolf or hybrid Venom.”

She shifts on Kol’s lap and then says, “I know how much you hate being alone.  This spell would make it possible for you to make more like you.  It would safeguard your actual family so that no one can take them away from you if you're too far away to cure them in time if they get bit."

She stops, and Niklaus is silent for several minutes before she asks, "Uh, Nik are you still there?"

He sighs then says, "I'm here, Luv.  Why do you want to do this spell for me?"

She frowns when she asks, "What do you mean why do I want to do it?  It'll make you completely whole and should make you as safe as possible.  It'll also make you just as able to make progeny as your siblings.  Just as it was wrong to shackle your wolf side, it was also wrong to make you dependent on the doppelgänger to be able to make hybrids.  Plus, like I said I know you worry about your family.  I was talking to 'Bekah the other day, and she said you hardly ever go more than a few hours away from your family.  She thinks it's because you worry about them and know that they are weakened by werewolf venom even though it won’t kill them, so you fear that wolves will attack them and possibly use their weakened state against them.  I know there’s at least one White Oak Stake, but is there any guarantee that your asshole didn’t have more than one and hide it or them somewhere?  And if he did have more than one and hid them, is there any guarantee that no one knows where they are?  On the off chance that there are more than the one you know about, I want to help you be whole and protect your family at the same time."

Bonnie can hear his frown from where she's sitting when he asks, "So, it's because you're friends with my siblings and want them to be safe?"

She smiles slightly and says, "That's a very, very small part of it, but mostly I want to do it for what it will mean for _you_ , my friend, who has gotten the short end of the stick repeatedly throughout the last thousand years."

He gasps and then goes silent again.  Two minutes of silence later she says, "Nik?"

Through Kol's thoughts I can hear the smile in his voice and what sounds like him wiping tears from his face when he says, "Sorry Luv, you just shocked me.  I can hear your steady heart rate and breathing so I know you're telling me the truth, and quite frankly no one has ever called me their friend before, or at least no one who wasn't a mass murderer like me.  You're everything good and pure in the world, and somehow I earned your friendship and apparently your trust if you're willing to do this spell and let me make hybrids any time I please, and that just blows my mind, especially after everything I did to you and your friends."

She's smiling when she tells him, "You've proven yourself Pebbles, well except for trying to dagger Elijah, and for the record, if you try to harm anyone I care about again, your siblings included, and I really will put a niceness curse on you.”

She shakes her head and then says, “Anyway, you've taken the second chance I gave you and you haven't thrown it back in my face.  So far as I know, you've adhered to the terms of the truce, and you've been a good friend to me these past few weeks.  I know you think I'm friends with your siblings and only put up with you because of them but that's not true.  You've been my friend, and I'm yours and what kind of friend would I be if I didn't at least tell you about this spell and offer to do it for you.  You deserve to be whole Nik.  And you and your siblings deserve to be safe and together for all time."

I can hear him nodding while he says, "Okay, well I'm not sure when I'll be back, but talk to Kol and hear what he has to say and then get back to me.  I'm in no hurry to make more hybrids but you make a fair point about us not having any guarantees that there aren’t more White Oak Stakes out there so protecting my family from wolf attacks that would make them weaker and more vulnerable would ease some of my worries, so when you know what you plan to do you can let me know, okay?"

She nods with drawn brows, and pursed lips when she says, "Okay, I'll talk to you later then, and I better hear from Elijah that you've been properly groveling, or I'll get you Nik."

He chuckles once more and says, "I'll do my best Luv.  Talk to you later."

"Stay safe Nik." 

He says, "And you as well, Luv."

She nods and says, "Okay, bye."  She hangs up.  Then she turns to look at Kol and jumps back to the earlier part of her conversation with Niklaus, "I knew they slept together.  'Bekah called while they were going at it and bitched about the noises after you and she dropped me off at home after our shopping trip for witchy supplies.  I think it was a few days after you got your magick back, but now she's pregnant with a vampire's baby?"

He chuckles and tells her, "Beks and I both gave him a running commentary on his technique when we got home and realized what he was doing.  It was an excellent way to get a little payback without risking being daggered, especially because the little wolf's senses weren't sensitive enough to hear us."

My grandbaby smiles and giggles before he frowns slightly and tells her, "To answer your question though, no, she's pregnant with a hybrid's baby _not_ a vampire's baby.  There is a difference, a _big_ difference.  According to Elijah, whom I spoke to about this earlier today, the witches of The Quarter described it as nature's loophole."

Bonnie just nods, but then she remembers what else Niklaus said and asks, "So what is Nik waiting for you to talk to me about?"

He releases a heavy breath and thinks, _'I guess it's now or never.  Please God let her think on it hard and ultimately say yes.'_

He brushes the last of her tears away and tells her, "Given the news regarding Hayley it's important for our family to appear united, so Elijah and Nik want Rebekah and me to join them in New Orleans."

Her face falls at his words and while her lip trembles she asks, "You… you're leaving?" 

She tries to fight her tears, but she doesn't succeed, so he brings his hands back up to her face and wipes away a tear or two, "Don't cry, Little Bella, I hope this isn't goodbye."

She frowns and with a tremble in her voice asks, "But if you're leaving, then isn't it?"

He smiles certain that she'll say yes given her slumped shoulders, downturned face, and trembling limbs at the idea of him leaving that I don't think she even notices, so with his smile firmly in place, he tells her, "I, _we_ , want you to come with us.  If you want to, that is.  That's why Nik said to let him know what _your_ plans are.  He's hoping, just as the rest of us are, that you'll choose to come with us and live in New Orleans as part of our family."

Her hazel eyes shoot open wide and jump up to meet his chestnut ones, and her mouth falls open slightly before she closes her mouth and asks, "You what?  You… you want me to go live in New Orleans with you and your family?"

He nods slowly and smiles tenderly while he tucks some strands of her hair behind her ear and says, "Yes, Elijah has offered to help you study for your GED to appease your parents.   I believe he mentioned visiting New Orleans' Public and University Libraries and doing The Knowledge Spell on every book that might be useful to you and then helping you arrange to take the test so that your father, mostly, won't get too upset about you moving in the middle of the school year.  That way the five of us can be together and help each other protect Hayley and the baby."

He pauses and then says, "Don't answer right now.  Just think about it, okay?"

She just nods and sits there contemplating what he just said to her, and he chooses to leave her to her thoughts, so he re-reads over the spell to give Jeremy back his arms making sure that he's thought of everything.


	15. An Invitation, Part Two

**______________________________________________________________________________**

**Chapter 015**

**An Invitation, Part Two**

**______________________________________________________________________________**

**Wednesday, January 19, 2011, about 5:30 p.m.**

**The Gilbert's Kitchen**

**______________________________________________________________________________**

I'm bored just watching Bonnie and Kol sit doing nothing, and they're not thinking anything I need to worry myself with, so I think myself to Jeremy to see what he's up to.  His nurse walks into the kitchen from the basement with a pile of laundry in her arms.  He tells her, "I'm gonna go hang with some friends tonight so I won't need you once Abby comes and picks me up."

She nods and puts the laundry on the chair beside Jeremy and then takes out her cell to call her ride and have them come and pick her up sooner than the usual 11 p.m. 

Jeremy smiles and sits back to wait for Abby to show up.  He really hopes Kol is on the up and up about this spell.  He hates not having his arms.  He can't play ball.  He can't draw.  He needs someone else to man the mouse if he wants to go on his computer.  He thinks, _'I can't even freaking feed myself or take a piss on my own.'_

These last six weeks have taught him so much.  For starters, he has a new-found appreciation for all he had before this nightmare started. 

Secondly, it's made him respect those with disabilities so much more than he already did.  I mean he already knew they had it rough and that they were amazing, but now he knows just how tedious and frustrating being disabled can be. 

Third, it's shown him who his real friends and family are.  Elena has avoided him whenever possible, but Elijah of all people calls every day just to check in on him and make sure he has everything he needs.  The original isn't quick about it either.  He asks how Jeremy is doing and the first couple of times when he said he was fine Elijah chuckled and pointed out that Jeremy was missing both arms, so he hardly thought he was 'fine.'  He laughed back and then told him the truth, life sucks without his arms. 

A car horn beeps three times, so Jeremy carefully gets up and walks to the door while his nurse follows behind him.  She opens the door for him, and he walks down the stairs very carefully.  It turns out not having any arms completely messes with a person's balance, so he can't even count the number of times he's fallen just trying to walk.

His nurse opens the door to Abby's car and then helps him sit before she buckles his seatbelt and tells him, "I'll see you tomorrow night, Jeremy."

He nods but says a silent prayer, _'Please God if you're listening, let the spell be safe, and let us do it tonight, so I don't need a nurse anymore.'_

Abby barely waits for the door to close before she pulls away from the curb.

Her eyes cut towards him a moment later before she tries to dash that hope and tells him, "Don't get your hopes up, Jeremy.  I know Bonnie trusts Kol and his siblings, but everything I know about them says that's a terrible idea."

He tends to mostly agree with Bonnie on the Mikaelsons, so he just nods because he knows arguing with his ex-girlfriend's mom will accomplish nothing except pissing himself off. 

The fact of the matter, though, is that the only Mikaelson who has ever actually instigated a fight and tried to harm one of them first is Niklaus, and the hybrid shocked the hell out of Jeremy over the holidays by pulling him aside at one point and apologizing to him for trying to hurt him. 

Jeremy believes he was honest in his remorse, too, so he's decided to trust Bonnie and take her approach and only judge them all on the behavior he sees from them and how they personally treat him.  So far none of them have done anything to lead him to believe Bonnie or the rest of them are in any danger from the Mikaelsons, quite the opposite really.

In fact, he's more inclined to think Elena is more of a risk to everyone than the Mikaelsons are.  I tend to agree with that assessment, but that's another story for another time, though.

Other than Abby trying to warn him about the Mikaelsons she thankfully doesn't say anything else, so they ride in silence.  When she pulls into the Mikaelson's driveway, she sighs and squares her shoulders before getting out of the car and moving around the car to open his door and help him out.

He smiles slightly at her in a silent thank you and then follows her to the front door.  She knocks, and a moment later the door opens to reveal Rebekah.  Jeremy might be just as smitten with her as she is with him, so he thinks she looks gorgeous in her blue dress.  He smiles brightly and tells her, "Hi Rebekah, blue's a good color on you."

Beaming at the compliment Rebekah opens the door wider and allows them to enter.  When she shuts the door, she says, "Thank you, Jeremy.  How have you been?"

He smiles and tells her, "Eh, I guess I've been okay.  I'll be better if Abby signs off on this spell Kol wrote for me.  A hug from a pretty girl might make my day better, though."

She giggles and then leans in and gives him a tight hug.  He grins as she reluctantly pulls away and tells her, "Definitely made my day better.  Thank you."

She nods and then turns to Abby and tells her, "So you're Bonnie's mother?"

Abby nods but says nothing so Rebekah and Jeremy both roll their eyes before Rebekah then leads the pair up the stairs.  While she walks, she says, "Elijah, Nik, and I read over the spell at different points while Kol worked on it.  I read it this morning before school, too, so I think if he managed to work out the last kink, your time without arms is quickly coming to a close."

He nods and tells her, "I hope so.  I hadn't realized it was a group effort, though."

She smiles while she looks at him over her shoulder and tells him, "I think Kol, Elijah, and Nik all started working on it separately, and then when they found out they were each trying to discover a solution they shared their notes and ideas and then went from there.  I'm sorry to say I didn't think of it myself.  But that's my brothers for you.  If they can help someone they care about, then they will stop at nothing until they have solved whatever problem is plaguing that person."

Before spending Christmas here Jeremy would have objected to the idea that Kol or Elijah and especially Niklaus care about him, but now he knows better, so he just nods while she walks them down the hall to the fifth door in this hallway.

She knocks then calls out, "Jeremy and Bonnie's mother are here, Kol."

She nods to herself and opens the door a moment later, and Jeremy smiles at the fact that he's still not used to being around people who can hear through walls.

They follow Rebekah into Kol's bedroom and then over to the door of his study.

Bonnie hops off Kol's lap and runs to her friend hugging him tightly.  He drops a kiss to the top of her head while Kol stands and walks over to Abby who is frowning from her spot behind Jeremy. 

Smiling as nicely as I'm sure he can manage even though I know he has an incredible dislike for Abby because she abandoned Bonnie knowing she'd be in danger, he sticks out his hand, "Ms. Bennett-Wilson, I don't believe we've been formally introduced.  I'm Kol Mikaelson."

My selfish brat reluctantly shakes his hand and nods before asking, "So let's see this supposedly non-dark spell you wrote?"

Ignoring the attitude in her voice and stand-offish stance, Kol nods and walks back to his desk before turning his book to face away from him and motioning with his hand for her to step in front of his desk and read it over.

My daughter is frowning deeply while she walks to his desk, but while she reads, her eyes progressively get wider and wider before she looks up at him and asks, "I've been trying to figure out a way to give him his arms back, but everything I came up with was a little too dark for my comfort.  What on earth made you think of this?  I never would have even thought of it, but I think it'll work, and it's not even remotely dark."

Jeremy's shoulders relax at that proclamation while Bonnie smiles and with a high chin and a gleam in her eyes she tells her mother, "Kol was a Prodigy growing up."

Jeremy thinks, _'Wait, he was an actual witch before becoming a vampire?  Well, no wonder he gets along so well with witches.'_  

Abby clearly didn't know either, so her eyes widen before she asks, "You were a witch before you turned?"

Now my grandbaby's eyes widen, and she begins worrying her bottom lip between her teeth when she realizes what she said, but Kol just smiles and nods.  Her look tells Jeremy she thinks it was a secret but then Kol smiles wider and tells Abby, "Yes, I was." 

Then he turns his face and looks Bonnie square in the eye and says, "Little Bella, I already told you that it wasn't a secret, so wipe that worried look off your face.  I promise I'm not angry that you told her."

She just nods and lets out a rush of air.  Then she asks her still deeply frowning mother, "So Abby, do you think we can do the spell on Jer, and will it work with no adverse side effects."

Abby turns and reads over the spell once more before saying, "It might take away Jeremy's hunter-ness, for lack of a better word."

Jeremy thinks, _'It might what?'_   He smiles brightly and asks, "You mean I won't be a hunter anymore?  That'd be awesome because I'm tired of having to fight the urge to kill my own sister not to mention Caroline, Damon, Stefan, and no offense, but even you guys."

Jeremy mentally grumbles, _'It's not fun having urges to kill people you actually care about, and it's even less fun when you know the only reason your body wants you to kill them is that they have the misfortune of having been turned into vampires against their will.'_  

Abby smiles and says, "There's no guarantee it'll do it, but it _is_ likely to happen if he removes the tattoo and its ability to continue to grow.  What I know of hunters suggests that the tattoo stores the magick that makes them hunters inside it.  If he gives you new arms that have no link to the tattoo, then the magick might turn itself off, but like I said, there's no guarantee it'll do that.  It's just a hunch on my part."

Jeremy's willing to chance it, but he loves my granddaughter like a sister so he doesn't want Bonnie doing a dark spell even if it would help him, so he smiles at Abby's words but asks, "Okay, so in your professional opinion you think it'll help me, but should I allow Bonnie to do this spell?  Is it safe for her to perform because I'm not willing to let her do a dark spell even if it would save me from life without my arms?"

Kol, Bonnie, and Rebekah all smile wide while he talks.  When he finishes, Abby smiles a rare smile at him and says, "If you want arms again and probably not to be a hunter anymore, _and_ you're willing to suffer the probably agonizing pain of your arms regrowing, then yes, I would suggest you allow the spell to be done on you.  And no, it's not even remotely dark, so it should be perfectly safe for Bonnie to perform."

He nods then asks, "So when can we do this?"

Kol smiles and tells him, "I've been working on it in a hurry because it will require a full moon, which happens to be tonight, so if you can wait a few more hours, we should be able to give you back your arms before the night is over."

Jeremy smiles and thinks that he’s never heard sweeter words.  He practically bounces when he says, "Awesome.  Thank you, Kol.  Not just for coming up with this spell but for compelling me when you chopped my arms off so that it wouldn't hurt _and_ for arranging for my nurses as well as having Elijah compel them to ignore anything supernatural they might see or hear.  I know we were trying to kill you, which I don't think I ever apologized for that, so I'm sorry for trying to kill you.  Anyhow, if I were you, I wouldn't have bothered offering to compel the asshole trying to kill me never mind help hire nurses to take care of him after the fact, so thank you."

Kol nods and tells his new-again friend honestly, "My conflict was never with _you,_ Jeremy.  It was with waking Silas and to a lesser degree your sister who seemed hellbent on killing me.  I expect us to be even once this spell is cast."

Jeremy smiles and thinks that they're not even close to even, but he nods and tells Kol, "We're not even close to even.  I already owe you like a million favors even without taking this spell into account, but whatever, if you want to call it even, then I'm game."

Kol smiles and then motions over to the two seats in the corner, "Why don't you and Ms. Bennett-Wilson sit while Bonnie and I collect all the ingredients we'll need."

They both nod and move to the chairs before sitting.  Bonnie walks over to Kol's desk and rereads the spell before walking to the cabinet that's half bookshelves and half cabinet.  She opens the door and takes out the herbs they'll need before carrying them over to the work table.  Kol is right behind her with the copper bowl, goblet, and her Athamé, which surprises Jeremy that it was already here, but she didn't take it home after using it to show Kol her premonition last Friday. 

Bonnie looks over at the doorway finding Rebekah just standing there with loose limbs and an unfocused gaze, so she tells the blonde, "Beks, I'm sorry, but I think our movie night is going to be postponed."

Kol smiles incredibly pleased with himself before he shakes his head and says, "Actually, if you and Jeremy want, I can mix everything, with your mother's supervision, and the two of you can go watch your movie with 'Bekah."

Jeremy smiles and tells them all, "I need to know what movie I'm agreeing to watch before I agree because Caroline has maneuvered me into seeing 'The Notebook' a few too many times."

Bonnie giggles and tells him, "'New Moon.'"

Smiling he tells her, "That's definitely better than 'The Notebook,' and it's got cool effects with the wolves, so I'm game, but only if Rebekah doesn't mind me crashing your party."

He doesn't want to just assume that she'll be okay with it, but Rebekah smiles a genuine smile obviously pleased and says, "I don't mind."

Bonnie nods and tells her friend, "Follow us," which he does after carefully getting out of his chair.

While Rebekah leads Bonnie and Jeremy out of the study and down to the den Kol wears a smile that makes Abby’s muscles stiffen.  It should make my selfish daughter nervous because he wants to pat himself on the back and that won't bode well for her.

The last thing Abby wants is to be alone with Kol Mikaelson, but she doesn't trust him enough to leave him to his own devices while preparing the necessary potion for the spell.  She looks at him from her seat but doesn't say anything while he mixes all the ingredients for Jeremy's spell.

While he works, they're both listening to the trio downstairs.  When he finishes mixing the potion, he leaves it to sit and steep, if you will and returns to his seat before he begins reading over something in his grimoire.  Halfway through their movie the trio downstairs pause it, and Rebekah answers the door to get the two pizzas they ordered. 

They hear Bonnie eat quickly and then help Jeremy eat.  While he's eating she tells him, "Just think in a few hours your armless nightmare should be completely over, and you won't need to rely on other people for the most basic of things."

We can all hear the smile in his voice when he tells her, "I know.  I can't wait.  I really hope it works because life without my arms really sucks.  I can't do anything by myself but sit and stare at the wall, but most of all I miss drawing."

I imagine she's nodding before she tells him, "I know, and so does Kol that's why he wrote the spell."

Jeremy laughs and says, "I may not have any arms, but I have two perfectly working eyes, so I know I'm not the reason he wrote that spell.  You were worried about me, and he wrote it so you could stop worrying about how I'm doing."

Abby's not sure either of them is correct.  She thinks Kol is up to something and she's confident he has an ulterior motive for helping Jeremy.  She doesn't know what it is yet, but she's sure it's not going to bode well for any of them. 

She is sure he only cares what happens to Jeremy and how he's coping in relation to keeping Bonnie thinking favorably of him. 

None of that is true.  Kol genuinely cares for both Bonnie _and_ Jeremy.  He cares what happens to the younger boy and how he's coping.  Still, Kol smiles that the teen is perceptive enough to notice Kol's feelings towards Bonnie even if the young man has no clue that Kol still considers _him_ his friend. 

Kol laughs lightly when Bonnie tells Jeremy, "Busted."

He chuckles then sobers up and says, "Thank you for being such an amazing friend Bon.  I'm really lucky to have you in my life."

Jeremy is a good kid, and he genuinely cares for Bonnie, but the fact that he's supported her decisions regarding Kol and his family worries Abby.  It seems to her that Elena and Stefan are the only two who really realize the threat she thinks the Mikaelsons genuinely are and don't even get her started on Caroline.  The blonde has been spending entirely too much time with Klaus, in Abby's not so humble opinion, so Caroline obviously isn't cautioning Bonnie against trusting The Original Family.

When Jeremy finishes eating Rebekah asks, "So are we ready to turn it back on?"

Abby and Kol stop listening when the trio goes back to their movie, and instead Abby focuses on the original vampire sitting across the room from her while she tries to stare holes through him.

When he looks at her, she glares harder because she thinks she's not stupid.  She 'knows' he's trying to steal her daughter from her.  She wants him to admit it though, so she asks, "What exactly are your intentions towards my daughter?"

He thinks, _'That's rich.  Bonnie's only her daughter and hers to care for when it's convenient to_ her _.  All the other times Little Bella has needed a mother to protect her and take care of her Sheila filled the role.'_  

Although Kol thinks I did an excellent job of it, he finds his hackles raising at this woman claiming _his_ Little Bella as hers when she abandoned Bonnie and left her in the care of a human monster with little regard for how well she would fare without her mother to protect her. 

Still, because she doesn't know he knows the truth, he smiles a condescending smile and tells her, "I have a spell I wish for you to read over and give Bonnie your opinion on.  I think after you've read it, you'll realize exactly what my intentions are."

He picks up his grimoire.  It’s already open to the correct page before he gets up, walks towards her, and then hands the book over to her.

I allow a not nice smile to spread across my face while she reads, and her eyes once again get progressively larger and wider with every word she reads.  She thinks she has to be reading it wrong, _'He can't seriously want my daughter for all time, can he?  He must want something from her and if I have to guess I'd say he has a major spell he wants her to perform.  Why else would he be working so damn hard to win her over, and now he wants to link them together for the rest of eternity?  I'm not buying his wanting to just be her friend.  This spell alone tells me he wants her for things I'd much rather my daughter not do with a vampire of any kind but especially not an original vampire.'_

She looks up at him and asks, "You don't honestly expect me to suggest my only daughter link herself to an original vampire for the rest of Eternity, do you?  And especially an original with the murderous reputation you have?"

He catches her eyes, and while she realizes her latest mistake, his pupils dilate, and he tells her, "In your own words, you will reluctantly tell her that the spell is not dark and is safe to do and that it will help keep her safe.  You will tell her that you don't necessarily agree with us doing it simply because she is your daughter, and I am a vampire.  You will suggest she think about it long and hard before she agrees because the spell will essentially be irreversible once it is cast, and she will be inheriting my long-life expectancy, and it will make us both virtually un-killable."

He pauses so my poor excuse for a daughter can repeat what he's told her.  While nothing he just compelled her to say is untrue, she thinks he has some nerve forcing her to support his mission to turn her daughter against those who love her. 

He's not done though, so he continues the compulsion by telling her, "You will tell her that the only things I might gain from our doing this spell are possibly the ability to do magick again and the peace of mind of knowing that she is safe.  You will also tell her that her friends will likely disapprove but that after speaking with me you realize I genuinely care for her and won't harm any of her friends because to do so would harm _her_."

Pausing once more he lets my seething daughter repeat his words back to him as her teeth grind.  Most of what he just said is still true, but she highly doubts he cares about much more than himself and his family and possibly getting into Bonnie's pants. 

She thinks, _'If I'm lucky, he just wants her for sex and not something more nefarious.'_  

She hopes Bonnie will figure out the game he's playing.  He’s prepared for Bonnie's very sensitive perceptiveness when he tells her, "When and if she asks why you seem reluctant, you will tell her, again in your own words, that you're just having difficulty reconciling what you're seeing of me now with what you've been told of me.  You will tell her that it is your issue, not hers, and she shouldn't worry about it."

Abby angrily thinks, _'Dammit, he's very thorough.'_  

She doesn't understand what thorough means but she will after she repeats the last bit back to him before he tells her, "If you can see auras you will not tell anyone that mine or my siblings' auras are now healed, and you won't realize we have our magick back or that our auras are now fully balanced."

Her eyes widen at that.  She wondered how and why their auras magickally healed themselves. 

She thinks, _'Bonnie must have suggested they try the same cleansing and balancing spell she did to regain her magick.  He's definitely up to something though.'_  

Once she repeats all of that back to him, he covers his tracks and takes care of The Truth Spell they did by telling her, "You will believe everything I just said to be the truth.  From this moment forward, you will be reluctantly supportive of any further decisions your daughter makes in regards to my family and me, and you will slowly come to trust us.  You will also not remember that I just compelled you or what it entailed."

I smile because as soon as she repeats everything, she will forget all of what just happened.  She fights it but when he releases her and smiles, his compulsions kick in, and she reluctantly smiles back when he tells her, "I expect you'll be honest with your daughter that I will gain very little from doing this spell and that it will help keep her safe."

The compulsions work causing her to think, _'While it's true that on the surface he'll gain extraordinarily little from the spell I still think he's up to something.  I just can't figure out what it is, and I find that I'm beginning to trust that he has no ulterior motives when it comes to my daughter, but I'll need to keep watching The Original Family with Bonnie and her friends to know for sure that they're all safe with the ancient vampires.'_

Nothing he compelled her to say is untrue.  I'm confident that Bonnie will see that.  I know, though, that despite not trusting her mother in most instances she would ask Abby for her opinion on anything magickal.  Kol knows that, too, and didn't want to risk Abby having the negative reaction she began to have a moment ago when she read the spell.

My daughter just nods so he takes his book back and heads back to the desk to read the spell over once more making sure he's covered every contingency because he is not a man who leaves anything to chance if he can help it.

Abby gets up and walks to the bookshelves to the left of her chair and starts looking at the grimoires lining the shelves.  She takes one out and then sits back down before opening it and reading it. 

While she reads, she distractedly tunes back in listening to the trio downstairs in time to hear Rebekah's opinion on everything from the special effects to the romantic drivel as she puts it. 

Rebekah huffs and says, "Seriously, Bonnie, he broke up with her in an incredibly mean fashion, and then he just expects her to forgive him?  I'd rip a guy to shreds if he treated me that poorly."

We can all hear the smile in Jeremy's voice when he says, "Edward is over 100 and I, at 16, know better than to treat a girl like that, so I kind of have to agree that he totally would have deserved it if she fought back and didn't take him back right away or at all for that matter."

A while later Kol smiles to himself when his sister leads their two friends back up the stairs to his study.  After she knocks, she leads the teens into the room where they find Abby sitting quietly reading one of Kol's spell books while Kol sits at his desk writing in his grimoire.

When they enter, Kol looks up and smiles before saying, "Little Bella, come read this spell but don't comment just yet.  I just want you to hear what your mother has to say about it, and then when everyone has left we'll talk about it okay?"

She looks at him curiously, but she nods and walks to him, giggling lightly when he pulls her onto his lap again.  Abby frowns at the picture they make because although they make a striking pair, she'd rather the 1,000-plus-year-old vampire stop flirting with her 18-year-old daughter. 

In her, again, not so humble opinion, Jeremy is showing just how young and gullible he is by smiling at the two of them.  Kol obviously sees her frown, but he chooses to ignore her and motions for Bonnie to read the spell he's placed in front of her.

It's a linking spell.  Several things about it are different from the spell Esther used to link her children together.  First, this one doesn't use doppelgänger blood.  Second, this one doesn't make it so that what happens to one happens to the other.  Instead, it will give the individuals doing the spell all the benefits of being the other person without any of the downsides of being that person. 

So, if Bonnie and Kol were to do this spell, she'd be as indestructible and just as hard to kill as he is because she'd have his super vampire healing.  I think it will also give her his senses, strength, speed, and vampire abilities without any of the pitfalls of vampirism.  She might even be able to compel humans _and_ vampires. 

It is pretty much the only non-dark way to create an immortal because it requires soul mates.  It essentially gives them both the same life expectancy and all the benefits of being each other without any of the downsides as a way of preventing two soul mates with different life expectancies from being separated by death.  One dying while the other lives on for eternity would ultimately be against The Laws of Nature and The Will of God because it would horribly upset The Balance. 

It's a ridiculously small loophole, but it will allow Kol and Bonnie to cast the spell without upsetting The Balance, which Kol obviously fully intends to take advantage of.

When my grandbaby finishes reading, she looks at Kol, so he smiles and says, "Ms. Bennett-Wilson, I believe we're ready for your input."

Abby lets out a heavy breath and says, "I don't necessarily approve of you two doing the spell simply because you're my daughter and he's a vampire and an original at that, but the spell isn't dark, and it's safe to perform and would keep you safe or as safe as an original anyway.”

She sighs again and then says, “I don't see anything nefarious.  Other than a tiny chance of Kol possibly getting to use magick again, he would gain very little from doing the spell except for the peace of mind of knowing you'd be safe.  That’s the only reason I'm going to say this: It's safe.  If you choose to do it, you should be safe.  However, think about it long and hard before you agree to do it because it won't be reversible, and if I'm reading it correctly, it will give you all of the benefits of being an original including his long-life expectancy.”

She shifts in her seat and crosses her arms, “Provided one of you is alive the other would always heal.  Neither of you would be killable unless you were both killed at exactly the same instant.  That would be next to impossible because my understanding is that there is only one remaining White Oak Stake.  That would still be the only way to kill him and therefore the only way to kill you.  That means killing you would be impossible simply because all the other White Oak burned up so you both wouldn't be able to die at the same time."

Abby pauses then exhales heavily and tells my granddaughter, "Your friends will probably disapprove of his essentially being truly immortal I'm sure.  After talking with Kol, though, I can tell that he genuinely cares for you.  I believe he won't hurt you _or_ your friends if they don't attack him first because he knows full well that to attack them would hurt _you_."

Bonnie's eyebrows furrow and she's concentrating extremely hard working through a particularly tricky problem then she says, "Um, okay, I'm missing something." 

She turns and puts her legs between the original's legs while she sits on his knee before asking him, "Why do you want to do this spell with me Kol?"

He understands now.  She's confused about what he gains from it.  She still has low self-esteem when it comes to her interactions with the opposite sex, so she doesn't honestly realize that he's incredibly attracted to her and wants her the way a man would want a woman. 

She also doesn't realize that he wants to link to her.  He smiles gently and pushes some of her hair back behind her ear before he asks her, "Remember the question I asked you to think about earlier?" 

When she nods, he continues, "If you say yes, then I would propose we do this spell first to keep you safe because New Orleans is full of our enemies now and the easiest way to harm us would be to go at you, the physically weaker species in our family.  If you weren't a witch, I'd just suggest that you drink my blood every day to ensure you'd ultimately survive anything they might try to do to you.”

He strokes her cheek and says, “However, I know you don't want to become a Vampire and have to drink human blood to survive or suffer the loss of your magick again.  This would keep you alive for all time without causing either of those things to happen."  

Abby thinks, _'Wait, New Orleans?  He's trying to convince her to move to New Orleans with him?  I only just got her back, so please God don't let her say yes.'_

My grandbaby's not entirely defenseless, and Kol obviously doesn't want her to think that he thinks she is.  He cups her cheek and says, "While I'm sure you could defend yourself against possibly as many as two dozen opponents at a single time, they could simply come at you with too many fighters for you to be able to properly protect yourself.  This will make you dying impossible, though, you will still feel pain, but everything will eventually heal.”

He leans his forehead against hers and says, “I know you haven't made your decision yet, but I wanted to take the opportunity presented to me and have your mother look it over and give her opinion so that you know it's safe to do if you choose to do it."

Bonnie nods and dashes any hope her selfish mother had when she tells him, "I'm pretty sure I'm going to say yes to going.  I just need to sit on it a little longer to be sure.  If you and Abby think this spell is safe and necessary, then I'll agree to do it, too."

Kol releases a deep breath, and his shoulders relax ever so slightly before he says, "Okay, well, let me know when you've made your final decision."

Jeremy shifts in his seat by Abby and asks, "So you think you're going to New Orleans?  Like to stay or just for a visit?"

Bonnie looks at Kol for a minute, and when he nods with a pleased smile on his face, she tells Jeremy, "Yeah, I think I'm going to stay for a while at least, or as long as Kol and the others are there anyway."

She looks at Jeremy, and he's sort of half frowning half smiling, which I've seen Bonnie do a couple of times now, and he's hunched over as though he's in a bit of pain, so she asks him, "You okay?"

He nods and says, "Yeah I just, I'll miss you, but you've got to do what you've got to do.  Maybe I can come and visit over the Summer?"

She looks at Kol again.  He smiles and tells her, "Provided it's safe for _both_ of you, I would never dream of denying you the opportunity to spend time with one of your best friends.  In fact, if I could come up with a good enough reason and a way to convince you to let me compel Ms. Gilbert into compliance, I'd say he should come with us.  God knows he's much safer with my family looking out for him than he is with the Salvatore's and his sister doing the job." 

All of their eyes widen at that, so Kol nods at Bonnie before she says, "We shouldn't take Jer away from his sister unless to leave him here puts him in more danger, but Jer you can absolutely come and visit whenever you want.  Though if you and Abby could not tell Elena or any of the others that I might be going I'd appreciate it.  I think they need to hear it from me directly.  Abby that goes for Dad too.  I need to be the one to tell him.  I owe him that much at least."

She owes him nothing so far as Kol, Jeremy, Rebekah, and I are concerned, but I've realized since the day I found out the ass has beaten her for most of her life that he has done a real number on her head. 

Kol looked it up to see if there was a name for it in this day and age, and although I had heard the name before I didn't know much about it, but now I know that she has all the classic symptoms of Stockholm Syndrome.

While Jeremy and Abby nod, Kol smiles slightly.  Jeremy nods deeply then he tells them, "Don't worry, Elena's being a bitch, so I'm not going to tell her a thing."

Bonnie smiles despite his words and tells him, "She's still your sister so show a little respect."

He frowns and leans forward slightly before he tells her, " _She_ doesn't show _me_ any respect, so why should I bother with the pretense of pretending I respect her when I don't?"

Kol laughs at that and tells him, "One thing my family learned when we were humans is that family is family and you stick together no matter what.  For the record, that belief has only grown through the centuries.  I mean think about it, my own brother personally stuck a dagger in my heart on seven separate occasions causing me to miss more than 400 years of my life, and yet when confronted by Mikael with an ultimatum that my refusing cost the lives of people I cared about I still couldn't help destroy Nik.  He's family and family is everything regardless of how he might have treated me."

Jeremy shakes his head, "She's not really my sister, and, honestly, Caroline and Bonnie treat me more like family than Elena has in a long time, so I'm inclined to stick with Caroline and Bonnie rather than Elena."

Kol and Rebekah's eyes widen at his announcement that Elena isn't really his sister and the look on both of their faces clearly asks, _'One of them is adopted?'_  

Abby narrows her eyes when Kol frowns before he asks, "What do you mean she's not really your sister?"

Jeremy frowns back and tells him, "I mean technically she's my cousin because her birth parents were my uncle and his teenage obsession who eventually married Ric and then convinced Damon to turn her into a vampire.  She was certifiable and completely homicidal, so thankfully Klaus took care of her and compelled her to kill herself.  Anyway, at first, I didn't care that Elena's not biologically my sister, and I mean really, I don't care, but she hasn't been acting like a sister.  She's been a bitch lately, and she's pissed at me for agreeing to let you chop off my arms.  I honestly think she's more upset that her chance at finding The Cure is lost rather than the fact that her little brother doesn't currently have any arms."

Kol opens his mouth to reiterate his belief, but Jeremy cuts him off, "Don't get me wrong, Kol, I hear what you're saying about Klaus and how despite his bad behavior you still couldn't and wouldn't betray him to your asshole father.  If I was in a situation where I had to choose between hurting Elena for a bad guy like Mikael and protecting her even to the detriment of others I care about I'd protect her.  I mean I let my arms be chopped off not just to protect myself but to protect all of the people we love, _including her_."

He pauses while Kol nods to show he understands then Jeremy says, "She hasn't been behaving like a sister though.  I get that Klaus's behavior towards you and your siblings doesn't get much worse in terms of sibling bad behavior.  I might be tempted, though, to compare Elena's bad behavior to Klaus' bad behavior that probably led up to him daggering you.  If she's not stopped, it's only going to get worse and worse and worse, and if I have to choose between her and Bonnie or Caroline, I'm choosing Bonnie and Caroline hands down every time because they've never done anything but love me unconditionally and have supported me through everything without treating me poorly.”

He pauses and shakes his head before saying, “Hell, Caroline became a vampire just like Elena, and she doesn't have the bad attitude that my 'sister' has, and from what I've heard Caroline's turning was way more traumatic than Elena's.   Anyway, like I said, Bonnie and Care are more like my sisters, except for the fact that I've kissed Bonnie in an entirely un-sisterly way."

Bonnie laughs at that, and so does Kol before Jeremy continues, "But I don't think either of us feels that way anymore, and it's morphed into a sisterly/brotherly thing instead of a romantic thing."

Kol obviously already knew they no longer have romantic feelings for each other, so despite his reputation for being jealous of everyone who might be vying for the same person's attention he's surprisingly not even the slightest bit threatened by Jeremy or his presence in Bonnie's life.

Bonnie nods before Rebekah interrupts, "Uh, loathe as I am to interrupt because I'm learning all sorts of interesting things, but if you're planning to do the spell tonight and not next month, you should probably head out to the yard soon because the moon hits its apex in less than 30 minutes."

Bonnie nods and slips off Kol's lap while her eyes widen because she didn't even realize she was still sitting on him.  _'Holy smoke am I really that comfortable being_ that _close to him that I can completely forget that I'm sitting on him?'_  

She shakes her head at herself and walks over to the bowl and goblet before she asks Abby, "So everything is on the up and up?"

Her mother frowns but says, "Yes."

She said yes but her frown and her tense body scream no so my ever-perceptive grandbaby narrows her eyes and turns to face Abby fully before she puts her hands on her hips and frowning back asks, "Then what's with the frown?"

Abby's frown deepens before she says, "I just, well, they're _The Originals_ , and I'm having a tough time meshing what I'm seeing of them now and what I've been told about them in the past." 

My grandbaby silently admits, _'Okay, I suppose that makes sense because they do have pretty scary reputations.'_

Abby pauses then tells Bonnie, "Ignore me, it's my issue, not yours."

Well, if she wants Bonnie to ignore it, then she will, so she nods and then turns back to the table before she picks up the goblet and sniffs, "Yuck that smells gross, and he has to drink that?"

Kol laughs and tells her, "I'm afraid so."

Jeremy chuckles and says, "I'll just follow it with a juice chaser."

Bonnie giggles and nods then after they've grabbed everything they need, including Kol's grimoire, they all head out to the backyard. 

When we get there Bonnie gasps at the Pentagram etched into the cement that was not there a week ago.  Kol smiles and says, "That's a gift from Nik."

She just nods and then steps into the circle before Kol asks, "Do you want me to be your assistant or would you prefer your mother or Beks?"

Bonnie wouldn't ask her absentee-mother to do that unless absolutely necessary, but she doesn't care if it's Kol or Rebekah who helps, so she smiles and tells him, "You're fine."

Deciding to lighten the mood a little, Kol chuckles and says, "I know I am."

She groans and tells him, "Careful or I'll find something to toss at you, Sparkle Pants."

Laughing he tells his mate, "Oh, the horror."

Smiling, she giggles back before telling the grinning original, "Oh hush."

Smiling and still laughing, he tells her, "Yes Ma'am."

Jeremy smiles and asks, "I've noticed she's calling you Sparkle Pants with more frequency."

Kol raises an eyebrow at his young friend but nods and says, "I'll live."

Jeremy chuckles in response to his words and cheerfully points out, "Uh, technically you're already dead."

Kol barks out a laugh and tells Jeremy who is absolutely grinning, "You make a fair point my friend, so let me rephrase, I'll survive."

Jeremy nods and tells him, "Better you than me.  I don't think I'd fair too well if someone called me sparkle pants.  Clearly, you're more secure in your masculinity than I am."

Kol places his hand on Jeremy’s shoulder and tells him, "Remember, I may look 20, but I'm really almost 1,030 years old.  So, don't worry Jer, that confidence will come to you with age."

He nods but tells Kol, "Sometime you need to tell me more stories of your life.  I mean you're older than England."

Kol chuckles and tells him, "Technically the Kingdom of England was formed in the 10th century, 927 to be specific.  I was born 54 years later in 981, so we're actually pretty close in age, but England is, in fact, older than I am.  Now if you're talking about Great Britain as it currently exists then that didn't form until 1707.  So, in that sense, yes, I'm older, by quite a bit."

Jeremy laughs, and so does Bonnie who says quietly with a bit of awe in her voice, "So cool."

Jeremy just nods and says, "I know, right?"

Rebekah hands Bonnie the container of salt while Kol smiles slightly and nods, so Jeremy nods back, and then Bonnie turns to him, "Okay, so if you're done pointing out just how ancient Kol really is I need you inside the circle." 

When he and Kol have moved, she walks around it pouring the salt and erecting the circle around them as she calls on the four corners and lights each torch positioned at each tip of the Pentacle. 

When it's up, she looks up at the sky and sees that it's time, so she reads from the book Kol's holding and says the incantation that comes before Jeremy drinks the potion. 

Then she walks to Jeremy and helps him drink it down.  Chuckling at his sour face when he tastes it, she doesn't say anything.  Then she turns and walks back to Kol and the book and finishes the incantation. 

A moment later, Jeremy screams and drops to the ground.  My tender-hearted granddaughter hates seeing others in pain, so she makes a jerky movement while she fights the urge to run to him.  Instead, she just continues chanting the last line of the spell until both of his arms finish regrowing, and he's no longer screaming.

My grandbaby releases the four corners and extinguishes the torches before she rushes to Jeremy’s prone form and kneels beside him. 

After gently placing her hand on his shoulder she asks, "Are you okay, Jer?"

He smiles and sits up before moving his arms around and then saying, "God that hurt, but I'm perfect.  And hey, I don't feel compelled to kill any of the vampires present anymore.  Wow, it's been a while since I didn't feel that burning need to ram a stake through someone's heart." 

When he finishes talking, he throws his arms around his friend and hugs her tight. 

When he lets go of her, she stands up and turns and faces Kol.  She looks at him for a minute and then walks to him and throws her arms around him before she tells him, "Thank you!"

He just nods, and while he wraps his arms around her, he tells her, "I knew how much misplaced guilt you were feeling, so I wanted to make it right if I could."

She leans back and looks him in the eyes, and when she sees his honest sincerity in his chestnut eyes, she screws up her courage and leans in, kissing him softly. 

His eyes widen just before hers slip closed and his arms tighten around her and hold her tightly while she enjoys their first real kiss, those two quick pecks in his study after he talked to Elijah about the daggers notwithstanding. 

This though right here is a real kiss, and she smiles into it because she feels like she's home in his arms.

My granddaughter has wanted to make a move for weeks now, but her fear stopped her.  He's flirted with her in those weeks, but she correctly thinks he was allowing her to make the first move, so she'd have more confidence in both herself and her budding feelings for him. 

She still has no clue exactly what _his_ feelings are for her, but she figures she'll deal with that later, so she's thoroughly enjoying this kiss and the fact that she finally found the courage to act on the feelings she's had for him for weeks now. 

A moment later Freya, Finn, and Henrik rejoin me after having spent the day trying to figure out what spells we need out of one of Kol's books he acquired in Haiti in 1684. 

The information has been slow going, but we've known for a while now that it's two spells and we know what they'll do.  But the three Mikaelson ghosts were trying to find some of Kol's old friends from Haiti to try to figure out who wrote the book and any other details that might help us find the book.

Henri is smiling then he turns and sees his brother and Bonnie kissing, and he pouts and says, "Oh man we missed their first kiss, Finn!  That sucks."

Freya, Finn, and I laugh before Finn asks, "I've never heard you use that sort of language before."

Henri smiles and says, "Way to avoid what I said big brother, but to answer your non-question, I've been following Jeremy when we aren't together, so I may be picking up some of the more modern slang terms.  But hey, I'm in the body of an 11-year-old, and you heard that witch we spoke to earlier.  I'm going to end up a live boy again, so I need to start acting and talking like a modern 11-year-old."

Finn frowns and tells his little brother, "Henrik, we have no way of knowing if she's correct.  She also said I'm going to be resurrected, but think of how much imbalance even one resurrection would cause, but both of us?  I'm not sure it's wise to hope for such a thing.  We should just focus on finding the book with the two spells Chalina told Sheila about and be grateful for what we will have."

Henrik's smile isn't as bright anymore, but he nods before telling his brother, "I'm still secretly hoping we get to go back.  I'll pray for it not to fall back on any of our loved ones, though."

Finn's frown lessens, and he places his hand on his little brother's shoulder, "I know you wish you were alive.  I will pray that you get your wish without our loved ones coming to harm.  However, remember that our best shot at coming back is Esther, and she's up to no good, so even if we do go back, there will be treachery to sort through."

Henrik nods, and I have no clue how much time passes, but then I hear buzz-kill Abby say, "Well I think I need to go home now.  Jeremy, do you want a ride?"

That's just one more reason to dislike her selfish ass only a selfish woman would interrupt her daughter while she's kissing someone for the first time.  I don't begrudge Jeremy though when he looks over at the pair.

Bonnie pulls away from Kol with a sheepish smile and looks at Jeremy, who stood up while she was busy kissing the vampire she hopes will someday soon be hers.  She grins before telling him, "I can give you a ride when I leave if you want."

Jeremy nods and asks, "Only if Kol and Rebekah don't mind?"

He once more proves himself to be considerate of others and their opinions, so Kol shakes his head and says honestly, "You're more than welcome to, I believe the phrase is, 'hang out' until Bonnie goes home."

Beks nods and says, "I don't have a problem with you hanging out a while longer."

Jeremy nods back and says, "Thanks," then he turns to Abby and tells her, "Thanks for the ride here and supervising the spell, but I'll catch a ride home with Bonnie later."

Abby nods and 'Bekah escorts her around the house to the driveway.

Bonnie looks at Kol and blushes, so he chuckles and tells her, "There's no need to blush, though, I do enjoy the Jasmine scent of your blood so close to the surface."

She laughs and puts her hands on her hips before she tells him, "I just bet you do.  So, what are we going to do now?"

He smiles and tells her, "I thought we could go in and watch the next movie in The Twilight Saga."

Smiling, she nods before turning to Jeremy and asking him, "That okay with you?"

Jeremy smiles back and nods, so after opening the circle and cleaning up the salt, they all head into the house where they find Rebekah already putting the DVD into the TV. 

Rebekah walks to the coffee table and picks up a tall glass before handing it to Jeremy and telling him, "Based on the horrendous aroma that was wafting from that goblet before you drank from it I'm guessing you have a bad aftertaste.  Because you mentioned a juice chaser, I took the liberty of pouring you a glass of Grape Juice."

He gives her a bright smile and tells her, "Oh God, yes, my mouth tastes nasty, so thank you times a million."

She smiles at him when he takes the glass from her and practically chugs the drink down.  He gradually slows down, and when he finishes, he lets out a sigh and says, "Rebekah, you Rock!  My mouth tastes much better now."

She smiles a wide and bright smile at him and then sits down on one of the couches before patting the spot beside her and telling the boy, "Take a load off, Jeremy."

He smiles and sits, so Kol follows suit and sits on the other couch.  Just when Bonnie sits down and moves into her usual movie watching position snuggled against Kol's side the doorbell rings, so Rebekah hops up from her seat and runs to answer the door. 

Kol’s eyes widen a little, and his mouth opens slightly when a minute later Caroline comes into the room followed by his sister.

Bonnie sits up straight and asks, "Care?  What are you doing here?  Is everything okay?"

Caroline smiles and says, "So far as I know everything is fine.  I was hoping I'd find you here, though.  I wanted to tell you in person that I don't agree with 99.999% of the things Elena and Stefan said this afternoon."

Bonnie smiles and even though she can guess what her friend's answer will be she asks the girl, "What's the .001%?"

Caroline giggles and says, "Okay, I really don't agree with 100%, but you know how much I hate definitive statements like that."

Bonnie nods and gets up and hugs her friend, "Thank you, Care, you're a good friend."

Caroline grins and says, "So are you."

Just then when they release each other the blonde turns slightly, and Jeremy waves at her, which causes her jaw to drop to the floor before she says, "Uh, I clearly missed something because when I saw you last night Jer you still didn't have any arms?"

He chuckles and tells the girl who started as his sister's best friend but in the last month or so has become his best friend instead, "You just missed Bonnie making with the Mojo.  You also just missed Abby leaving because she drove me here and stayed to read over the spell Kol wrote and then supervise to make sure everything was on the up and up."

Caroline turns and looks at Rebekah and Kol before she asks, "And you don't mind that she had someone double check that a spell you gave her was safe to use?"

Both originals shake their heads before Bonnie tells her, "It was actually Kol's idea the day I went to the beach with them.  I called Abby and asked if the spell to return my balance was safe to do.  Obviously, she said it was, but anyway, I've checked with her about most of the spells we've done, which for the record haven't actually been that many."

Caroline nods and says, "I know that's what you've been telling me.  I just wanted to see their faces when I asked.  So far as I can tell they really don't mind, so that's cool."  She wrings her hands and shifts slightly before she says, "So, uh, I'll just—"

Rebekah interrupts, "Caroline, would you like to stay and watch Eclipse with us?  I understand you're a huge fan of The Twilight Saga."

I smile both at Rebekah for inviting Caroline to stay and at Caroline’s wide eyes when Rebekah offers the invitation.

Caroline looks at Bonnie and says, "If everyone doesn't mind, then sure.  I'll never pass up an opportunity to stare at Jackson Rathbone or Kellan Lutz."

They all laugh at that and sit down and begin watching the movie.

 


	16. Waiting

**______________________________________________________________________________**

**Chapter 016**

**Waiting**

**______________________________________________________________________________**

**Wednesday, January 19, 2011, about 11:15 p.m.**

**The Mikaelson's Den**

**______________________________________________________________________________**

As Freya, Finn, Henri and I watch the five people in the room watching their movie, I like what I see.  Kol and Rebekah, and their five siblings, genuinely care about the three teens that are currently watching the film with them. 

I had no idea what Kol's plan would mean for all of them when he first thought of it, but I find myself grateful he decided to make my granddaughter his.  It's led to the three teens in the room growing closer not just to each other but to the Mikaelsons, and I am now convinced the Mikaelsons will move heaven and hell to help any one of or all three of their younger friends.  Or really, they've been viewing them as family for a few weeks now, and that pleases me, too.

About half an hour into the movie I notice that Jeremy keeps looking to his left in Henri's direction and slightly shaking his head.  This is it, the moment we've been waiting for, and Henri decides not to wait any longer.  I chuckle at him, which causes Jeremy's eyes to widen when he slightly turns his head to face me. 

Henri gets up from the table he was sitting on and walks closer to Jeremy asking him, "Jeremy, can you see us?"

His chocolate eyes widen even more, and I don't need him to nod gently and ever so slightly to know he heard Henri and can see us.  Now we will be able to communicate with the family and Henri’s presence means that the other Mikaelson children will finally get the closure they need regarding his death, especially Niklaus who still holds far too much guilt over that event. 

Now we just have to reassure Jeremy we mean no one any harm and then help them find those two spells one of Kol's friends worked on while he was in Haiti back in the 1680's.

Henri wastes no time before smiling and telling Jeremy, "I need you to find a book in Kol's collection.  It's from Haiti in the mid to late 1680's."

Jeremy shakes his head ever so slightly again, so Henri tells him, "It has two spells that will allow three of the ghosts in the room to be seen by those involved with the spells.  Just think, if you find the spell and do it for us then you could do it for your friend Alaric.  You can't tell the Mikaelsons though, not yet."

I shake my head at Henri.  He's testing Jeremy to be sure the teen is trustworthy.  Jeremy’s eyes widen, but he shakes his head again.  "Come on, don't you want to be able to hug Ric again.  And the senior Mr. Salvatore could see his friend again."

Henri lets him think on that for a while, and a few minutes later Bonnie asks Rebekah, "Hey, Beks, I need to pee, so can you pause the movie for a minute?"

Rebekah nods and pauses the film, and Bonnie hops out of Kol's arms and hurries to the hallway to use the bathroom near the kitchen.  Jeremy nods and follows her saying, "That was a big glass of grape juice earlier, so I'll use it after her."

He doesn't wait for them to respond before he follows his friend down the hallway.  Bonnie uses the bathroom.  I tilt my head as Bonnie exits the bathroom and then Jeremy pushes her back into it prompting her to say, "Jer, what the hell?"

When the door shuts again, he whispers, "Shh, I need to talk to you."

He’s frowning deeply, and I'm sure even Kol and Rebekah can hear _her_ frown from their seats on the couches.

Bonnie narrows her eyes and says, "Whatever you just shoved me into the bathroom to tell me needs to wait because you obviously don't want Kol and Beks to know, and they can pretty much hear everything in at least a three-mile radius from where they're sitting so whatever you want to—."

Jeremy frowns even more deeply before he interrupts her, "I think getting rid of my hunter-ness has reactivated my ability to see ghosts."

Her eyes widen before she says, "Wait, what?"

He lowers his voice and tells her, "There's this ghost, well actually there are four of them, but the one, he wants me to look through Kol's books to find a spell that will make it possible for three of these ghosts and potentially others to be visible to others.  I'm not too keen on the idea, but he makes a solid argument regarding at least giving our friends the opportunity to have closure, so can you try to find it?  I don't think he knows the name of it, but it's in one of the books that Kol got in Haiti in the 1680's."

Her frown gets even deeper now before she tells him, "Say I do what you're asking?  The first thing I'm going to do is go back out into the den and tell Kol everything you just said because I'm not willing to keep secrets from him _or_ to use him to find a spell in one of his books.  He deserves better than that, and _you_ should know me better than to think I'd keep a secret that big."

Now he's nodding as he says, "I know that, but the ghost was very insistent that I not tell the Mikaelson’s, so I wanted him to hear your response for himself.  Don't worry, I'm not too happy about being asked to keep secrets from them either, hence me talking about it where they can probably hear me word for word."

Frowning, Henri tells him, "You'd think I just asked you to kill someone.  All I wanted was for you to find the spell and get your witch friend to cast it.  The Mikaelsons don't need to know about it.  They won't be angry once the spell has been cast they'll actually be happy about—"

Jeremy passes Henri's test when he interrupts him and says, "Oh shut up, Casper the Annoying Ghost, I don't care who you are or how un-upset you think they'll be in the long run.  Bonnie and I don't keep secrets from our friends, and while I know Kol and I have a ways to go before our old friendship is repaired I actually find I do want to repair it, so I'm not going to keep secrets from him, which would kill any shot I have of getting him to trust me.  For the record, if I kept secrets he'd have every right not to trust me, and I really want to earn and then keep his trust, so whoever you are you need to stop trying to get me to betray my friends because it's just not going to happen."

All four of us smile while Jeremy tells Henri off.  Yes, I like what I see very much.  Not only do the Mikaelson's care for the three teens but they care for them back.  This is a very nice development and will mean wonderful things for the family.

Bonnie asks the question Kol would probably be asking if he was in here right now, "Uh Jer, do you know who this ghost is?  Or..."

He says, "No, but I know one of the other three and I’ve seen another in pictures.  The younger one is probably 10 or 11 years old and uh don't take this the wrong way, but he looks like he might be related to Elijah and Kol.  He bears a strong resemblance to them, and I think I spotted a painting of him in the room I assume is Klaus' painting studio."

Bonnie gasps then says, "Oh My God.  Ask him if his name is Henrik."

Jeremy laughs as Henrik starts cursing up a storm.  I think he wanted those two spells but didn't want to get our family's hopes up until we find the spells, so he says every curse he's learned in his 1,009 years as a ghost while Jeremy says, "I'm guessing by the swears coming out of his mouth that the answer is yes.  Um, Henrik how does a kid your age even know those words?  Hell, I might actually have to go look up some of them myself though I can guess as to their meaning."

Bonnie laughs and says, "Kol, how do you want us to handle this?  Is there a question we can ask him to make sure it's really your brother?"

I smile because Bonnie and really all three teens are brilliant and obviously loyal to the siblings.  I really do like what I'm seeing of them all, and I have liked it for some time now.  However, Jeremy gasps at my granddaughter's words and says, "Their brother?  I thought Finn, who I’m pretty sure is one of the other ghosts, was the only other sibling?"

She opens the door of the bathroom and leads him out while she shakes her head and tells him, "Um, there was actually a girl, Freya, before Finn and then there were a handful of babies that didn't make it out of infancy, and then Henrik was the last one who survived, well until he was about 11 anyway."

When they come into the room, she frowns at Kol and tells him, "Kol, if you want I'll let you tell Jer Henrik's role in all of you turning."

Henrik decides he should be the one to do that, so he tells him, "I was stupid and talked Nik into taking me to watch the wolves turn during The Full Moon.  One of the wolves mauled me while we were watching, and our parents decided to protect the rest of our family by turning them all into Vampires, so they'd be stronger than the wolves.  Never mind that it was my own damn fault.  Tell Kol and Beks that it wasn't Nik's fault.  It was my own damn fault.  I knew better, and I talked him into it anyway.  I want the spells, so they can all see me, and I can tell Nik it wasn't his fault, and I hope to release him from the ton of guilt I know he feels about not just my death but the fact that Mama turned them into monsters too.  He blames himself for every atrocity any of them ever committed, and it wasn't his fault it was mine and Mama's and Papa's."

Jeremy's eyes get wide, and he says, "Oh, oh wow.  Okay, I'll tell him."

He turns and looks Kol and says, "He wants the spell, so you all can see him, and he can tell Klaus once and for all that his death wasn't Klaus' fault and neither was your parents' decision to turn all of you to protect the rest of you from the wolves."

Rebekah's eyes are watering while she asks, "Is it really Henri, Kol?"

Kol shrugs and thinks for a minute before asking, "Who put horse manure into Mikael's boots?  Who did Mikael blame for it, and who took the blame to prevent Mikael from beating the one he blamed?"

Jeremy tilts his head while Finn laughs, and Henri answers the question.  Rebekah clearly doesn't know the answer because Kol, Nik, and Henri never told a soul about the truth.  When he finishes explaining Jeremy says, "You put the shit in his boots, but your asshole blamed Klaus.  Unfortunately for Klaus, you were out picking berries with Rebekah when Mikael discovered his shit filled shoes so you couldn't fess up, so Henrik took the blame and showed your asshole his dirty boots and a dirty shirt as evidence that he wasn't just trying to protect Klaus.  He figured if he took the blame your asshole wouldn’t hurt anyone because although Mikael never hesitated to beat any of his other children, he never laid a hand on Henrik.  Unfortunately, it backfired because then Mikael beat Klaus for being a bad influence on Henrik because Klaus had previously taken the blame for a similar prank you had done a few weeks earlier to Elijah and Finn's boots.  Klaus never gave you up or admitted that it had been you both times and that he had nothing to do with it.  Wow, okay that makes me see Klaus in a slightly different light."

Kol nods and tells his sister, "It's really Henri because the only people who knew the truth were Nik, Henri, and me.  I offered to tell the truth, and Nik told me to leave it be, or I'd get a beating, and then so would he for not having told the truth.  Personally, I thought he would have been safe a second time, but I wasn't willing to risk Mikael hurting him again because of my actions, so I never told anyone and neither did they, so it has to be Henri."

Rebekah has tears in her eyes when she says, "I miss you, Henri."

He smiles and tells Jeremy, "Tell her I miss her too and that I say, 'I love you, Beks.'"

Jeremy repeats the message, so Henri grins and nods then Rebekah looks at Kol and asks, "Do you know which book has the necessary spell?"

Kol shakes his head and says, "No, I don't actually recall that spell, but if he says it's in one of the ones from 1680's Haiti, well that narrows it down to about 250 or so books."

Jeremy's eyes are wide when he says, "Damn 250?  That's a lot."

Kol smiles slightly and shakes his head again, "Given that I own probably close to 20,000 grimoires, 250 is a vast improvement."

Jeremy nods and says, "I know the girls wanted to watch the movie, but maybe we could all look through your books instead and watch the end of the movie another night?"

Rebekah looks at Caroline and asks, "Caroline, would you mind terribly?"

She only slightly surprises them by saying, "Not even a little.  Getting that spell and helping Klaus have closure is way more important than us getting to stare at hotties on the T.V."

Rebekah nods and so do Bonnie and Jeremy, so Kol stands and tells them all, "Come on then.  Bonnie would you mind doing the spell on Caroline so she can understand any language, and I'll do it to Jeremy?"

The eyes of the two teens who up until this moment didn't know the Mikaelsons have their magick back widen when his words sink in.  Kol's eyes are wide too when he clearly realizes his mistake because Jeremy says, "Wait, you can do magick?"

Giggling, Bonnie says, "Um, oops."

Kol chuckles but nods and tells them, "I believe you already know that my siblings and I were witches before being turned.  What you don't know is that Bonnie suggested we try the spell I suggested _she_ do to get back _her_ magick.  Obviously, it worked so now all four of us have our magick back, and before either of you go and get angry at Bonnie bear a few things in mind, 1.) I already had the spell in my possession, so she didn't give us the spell and 2.) it didn't require someone with working magick to perform it, so all she did was suggest we try the spell we already had.  3.) I believe she thought it would help mellow us out and keep us from going on any killing rampages, so I believe her heart was in the right place."

Caroline and Jeremy both nod, and Jeremy tells the two originals, "I know the others would probably freak out, but I trust Bonnie implicitly.  If she thought it was best to make that suggestion, then I'll trust her judgment on that."

Caroline is nodding even more deeply and says, "Exactly.  She wouldn't have suggested it if she thought it was too dangerous.  Plus, she's told me enough in the weeks that have followed that I know you guys haven't abused the gift she gave you.  So, I won't freak out either, though, I would like to suggest none of us tell anyone else, though, because like Jer said they _will_ freak out and probably try to kill you all again."

Rebekah and Kol nod and Kol tells them, "Thank you for essentially giving us the opportunity to prove ourselves."

Jeremy shrugs and tells him, "Honestly, other than Klaus, who attacked us first on multiple occasions, I always thought the rest of you got the short end of the stick when it came to us.  None of you tried to hurt us, and we still tried to hurt you guys a ton of times.  I mean my bitchy sister literally stabbed Rebekah in the back and killed her however temporarily it might have been.  And like I said, I trust Bonnie, so if she thinks you guys deserve the right to prove yourselves worthy of our not trying to kill you guys, then I'll follow her lead."

Henri laughs and nods when Caroline smiles and nods again before saying, "What he said."

Finn smiles at me and tells his brother and me, "That went much better than we could have hoped for."

I pat his shoulder and tell him, "Jeremy and Caroline are above all else loyal to Bonnie.  Until she proves that loyalty is misplaced, they will follow her lead on most if not all things, especially if it involves magick or the supernatural."

They both nod at me while Rebekah and Kol laugh lightly at Jeremy's words, so Kol nods and says, "Well thank you all the same.  So, Little Bella, you'll do the spell on Caroline, and if Jer trusts me enough, I'll do it to him?"

All three of the teens nod, so Kol leads them all up the stairs to his room.  When we get there Bonnie whispers the words to the Teleportation Spell she wrote a few weeks ago, and a grimoire lands on Kol's bed.  She picks it up and begins flipping through the pages before she asks, "So Kol, do we want to use Dr. Martin's spell, which is somewhere in this book or do you prefer we do the version you guys did all those centuries ago?  Is one better than the other?"

The vampire smiles and tells her, "Hold on a second.  The spell is in the same book the Cleansing Ritual was in.  I'll get it, and we can compare them, and you can tell me if you think one is better than the other."

Bonnie chuckles and explains to her two younger friends, "He uses every opportunity that presents itself to teach me, so you'll have to put up with me slowing us down."

Caroline smiles and so does Jeremy when Caroline says, "No worries.  You've said repeatedly that he's been a really good teacher, and you also said multiple times, including tonight, that you've been double checking everything with Abby, so if he thinks this is the perfect opportunity to teach you something then who are we to complain especially because we're clueless when it comes to magick."

Bonnie nods while Kol shows us all into the study and then whispers the words of the Teleportation Spell a minute later before the two leather chairs from his bedroom join the two in his study so that everyone will have a seat. 

He smiles when Bonnie laughs and then he tells her, "The book is in Elijah's study and if I try to teleport it probably most of the books would come with it because Esther titled all of her books the same, so I'm going to go get it the old-fashioned way.  Be right back."

They all nod with smiles on their faces, so he hurries out of the room and down to Elijah's bedroom and his study.  Caroline hears him run his hand along the spines of the books on the shelves until he finds the one he needs.  He grabs it and rushes back out of the room.

When he reenters his study, he finds them all sitting except Bonnie who is arranging the bottles of Herbs needed for the spell in her book.  She looks up when he enters and smiles and says, "I figured the herbs are probably close to the same for both spells, so I took out what this spell requires."

Kol smiles and opens the book to the right page before handing it to her.  She looks at it and then walks to her grimoire and looks at that spell before she says, "They're identical.  Did you know that?"

He smiles and tells them all, "I suspected.  You told me Dr. Martin's ancestors were from Salem.   You also mentioned that Emily Bennett's ancestors also came from Salem.  Now they were probably there around the same time.  However, it's my guess that it was originally a Bennett spell because my mother's book dates to the turn of the previous Millennium when Ayana, who was also Emily's ancestor, was living here in the same village as my family.  As you know, she was Esther's mentor and honestly, she took over mine and my sibling's magick studies when she noticed our mother was getting involved in dark magick.”

He runs his hand through his already messy brown hair and says, “My siblings and I have such a strong aversion to dark magick not just because of the mess Esther's use of it caused in all our lives but also because Ayana made the consequences of dabbling in that sort of thing the way Esther was very clear.”

He looks Bonnie in the eye and says, “I'm convinced Ayana's teachings are the main reason Esther and Mikael didn't warn us what they were doing when they turned us.  Ayana was an amazing friend to our family, but she saw the evil that was our mother, so she did her best to thwart Esther's machinations whenever possible, so she made sure we knew nothing good ever comes from using dark magick."

He pauses and then turns slightly to better face the two who don't already know the story and says, "Caroline and Jeremy, Esther got The Immortality Spell from Ayana's book, which she stole from her long enough to copy that spell and apparently get some ideas for the curse she placed on Nik.  What I'm about to tell you both doesn't leave this room, understand?"

He looks them both in the eyes before they nod, so he continues, "Ayana didn't use or advocate the use of dark magick, but her ancestor, Qetsiyah, used and may very well have invented Expression, which is the type of dark magick that the professor taught Bonnie.  The reason Qetsiyah is a secret is that she's the one who turned Silas into the first immortal, so Ms. Gilbert and company need not know that Bonnie might have access to her ancestor's books.”

He sighs and says, “The spell Esther used to turn us was the same spell used to turn Silas.  My understanding is that Ayana outright refused to give mother the spell so Esther, wonderful friend that she was, stole her mentor's book and copied the spell she needed and I believe she also took down some other spells she used as a baseline for the curse she placed on our brother a few days after we turned.  Anyway, my siblings and I got the language spell from Ayana.  I copied it into Esther's book myself, so I figured both our spell and Dr. Martin's spell probably ultimately came from the same source, Ayana."

Jeremy bounces his knees while he sits and says, "Okay overlooking what a horrible woman your mother was and what a decent woman Esther's mentor was that is so very cool.  So, it's the same spell, so what do you need me to do so you can place it on me?"

They all smile while Kol tells him, "Once we cut up and mix the herbs and some spring water, you and Caroline will drink it.  Then Bonnie and I will say the incantation for each of you, and we'll wait a minute or two before I'll show you one of my books and see if the spell worked."

We all nod so my granddaughter goes about preparing the herbs and then adds the water Caroline hands her.  When she finishes, she stirs the mixture clockwise 27 times and then she pours half into the Goblet they used and then cleaned earlier and then she gives Caroline the Goblet and hands Jeremy the bowl with the other half in it.

Jeremy looks at it with narrowed eyes and raises it to his nose before cautiously sniffing.  Kol chuckles and tells him, "It shouldn't taste anywhere near as horrible as the other one did.  I don't recall a bad taste from this spell, and I could smell the stench from the other spell, so you should be safe this time."

Jeremy snickers and nods but turns to look at Rebekah and asks, "Just to be safe, though, do y'all have more grape juice in your fridge?"

She giggles and nods before she says, "I opened a brand-new bottle for you, so there's plenty if the need arises."

Jeremy grins and then asks, "Tell me when."

Laughing, Kol tells him, "You can drink it whenever you're comfortable."

Jeremy and Caroline both look at each other.  Then they both lift the potion to their mouths and drink it down.  The two of them smile a moment later, and Caroline tells everyone, "Yay, no bad aftertaste!"

Kol sniggers and says, "Told you so."

She giggles and says, "Hey you can't blame me for worrying.  Some of the things Bonnie has mixed up have smelled like raw sewage.  I'm allowed to be cautious."

Jeremy nods and adds to her statement, "And since not two hours ago I drank something that definitely tasted _worse_ than raw sewage can you really blame _me_?"

Kol chuckles and tells him, "No I suppose I can't."

He then turns and looks at Bonnie and tells her, "Ladies first."

My grandbaby nods, whispers the incantation and then smiles when Caroline begins glowing.  The light pulses nine times then seems to slowly sink into her pores before disappearing completely.  She doesn't feel anything different though.

Caroline smiles at them, so Kol repeats Bonnie's actions and smiles too when the same thing happens to Jeremy.

Bonnie and Kol turn and clean up after themselves giving the spell a minute to settle in the teens' brains.  Then the original hands Jeremy his mother's book and asks him to read the spell he opened it to.

The boy smiles and says, "'A Spell to Return the Balance.'  Hey, is this the spell you guys did at the beach?"  When Kol nods Jeremy smiles and says, "Cool."

He then hands the book to Caroline, and she flips to the next page and reads, "A Spell to Cure an Upset Stomach,"

Rebekah leans over and looks at the page before she nods and says, "Well that definitely worked."

Kol smiles back and then walks to the corner of the room where he stops and whispers the Teleportation Spell again this time to bring all the books he acquired in 1680's Haiti to his feet.

Caroline thinks that is _'so cool'_ so she giggles and asks them all, "I know I'm an actual mythical creature now, but is it weird that I still get so excited when I witness magick?  I mean we grew up thinking it was just fiction, and now every time Bonnie, or now I guess Kol, proves it's not, I have this irresistible urge to giggle madly."

My granddaughter smiles and says, "It's not weird because I want to giggle every time, too!"

Henri smirks and with a decided leer in his voice tells Jeremy, "I'm beginning to see what Nik sees in young Caroline.  She's certainly a looker, isn't she?"

I swat his shoulder and tell him, "Stop instigating."

He laughs and says, "But it's so much fun, especially because this is the first time in centuries that someone who's alive can see me."

Jeremy laughs loudly at that and says, "Instigating can be incredibly fun, but make sure it doesn't come back and bite you on the ass.  As for Caroline, I think you are far too young to see what he sees in her."

Caroline’s head whips around to look at Jeremy who shrugs and says, "What he's like 10 years old and telling me that he totally sees what Klaus sees in you, and the way he said it was a little too mature for a ten-year-old boy."

Bonnie giggles and tells both of her friends, "Uh, he may have been 11 when he died, but technically he's almost 1,021-years-old so just keep in mind that you, Caroline, and I are the only individuals in this room, vampire, human, witch _or_ ghost that are under 1,000 years old.  So, I don't know what he looks like, but he's probably just as dirty an old man as his brothers have proven to be."

Henri is literally rolling around on the floor he's laughing so hard at Bonnie's characterization of his brothers, so Jeremy hunches over laughing hysterically before he manages to calm himself enough to say, "He's literally rolling on the floor in laughter.  Too, funny!  We got to find that spell so you all can see him and hear him."

I smile and tell him, "Jeremy, there should be a second spell on the other side of the page that should make our visibility permanent.  It's too dangerous to try to bring us back to life, so we're not even going to suggest any of them try, but the two spells in Kol's book should make it possible for us to interact with all of you on a more permanent basis."

He nods then tells everyone else, "Ms. Bennett says there is a second spell that should make them permanently visible, which should be almost as good as actually bringing them back and before you have a fit at the suggestion, Kol, she made it clear she wasn't suggesting Bonnie or you guys even consider trying bringing them back."

Bonnie's lip trembles before she asks, "Grams is here?"

Jeremy nods at Bonnie while Henri tells him he agrees with Kol's previous thoughts on the subject of Dark magick, so Jeremy tells his friends, "Yes, Bon, Grams is here.  As for resurrecting them, Henrik agrees with you, Kol, that if she or your family never does another dark spell again, it'll still be too soon."

Bonnie smiles tremulously and says, "I love you, Grams.  I miss you."

I smile and tell him, "Tell her I love and miss her too and that I'm very proud of her for the road she's taken in recent times."

He repeats my words which brings a soft smile to Bonnie's face.  Then he turns to Freya and says, "Finn I know from the photo of the Mikaelson's that ran in the Mystic Falls News after Esther's ball but who might you be?"

Freya smiles and tells him, "I'm their oldest sister, Freya."

Jeremy's eyes widen before he says, "Oh wow.  Nice to meet you.  Finn, nice to meet you too."

Henri frowns and asks, "Is it not nice to meet me?"

Jeremy barks out a laugh and tells him, "Yes, it's nice to meet you, too, now that I know for sure you don't mean my friends or me any harm."

Kol smiles and asks, "So who's the mystery ghost?"

Jeremy grins and says, "Freya.  I never saw Esther or Mikael, but they must have been good looking because there isn't a single one of you that's ugly."

Everyone laughs at that before Kol asks, "I assume Freya won't be participating in these two spells?"

Jeremy frowns and asks, "Why wouldn't she?"

Rebekah smiles and tells the teens, "Because technically she's not actually dead.  Freya is in a magickally induced sleep but much like with the daggers she isn't actually on The Otherside permanently."

All three teens have wide eyes while Kol and Rebekah explain the story of Freya to their new friends.  Freya throws out a few pieces of information, too, which Jeremy relays to the rest of the room for her.

When they finish her tale, I smile and tell Jeremy, "Tell Kol that he'll have to read the spells very carefully and all of the magick users present will need to figure out what effect doing the spells would have on Freya's ability to wake up when the century is over."

He relays the message before Kol nods and says, "Very well.  What do you all know that might help us locate the spells sooner?"

Henri elaborates on the spells we need so Jeremy passes the message along, "Henrik says if he recalls the spell correctly the one to make them permanently visible to anyone named in the spell isn't even remotely dark, but it should make them visible and corporeal without bringing them back.  They'll only be able to touch those individuals named in the spell, but they should also be able to touch inanimate objects whenever they please, but they'll still be able to act like ghosts too, so they should be able to help protect those they love with their ghostly gifts as he calls them.”

He shifts in his seat and looks at Kol before he says, “Anyhow they'll let you make the final call, Kol, on whether it's safe for Bonnie or anyone else to try the second spell.  Henrik says the important thing is being able to be seen by Klaus one more time so he can assure your brother that he knew how stupid it was when he convinced Klaus to take him to watch the wolves.  He wants to make sure he knows it’s not his fault but rather Henrik’s own fault because he knew they weren't supposed to go and that they'd get into trouble if anyone found out."

Kol nods and then after Henri remarks on what he just said Jeremy adds, "Plus, he'd really like to get the opportunity to hug each of you at least once, which he thinks the first spell will make possible if I'm touching him, or rather he's touching me.  So, like if I hold his hand, then he could use the other arm to hug you guys… or… I suppose I could put my hand on his back and he could use both arms to hug you guys, though, I might have to touch his neck to make that work because my gut says I'll need to touch bare skin to make it work like he wants."

Kol smiles while he nods and tells Jeremy, "You are probably correct."

Smiling, Kol asks Jeremy, "Now you said earlier that Ms. Gilbert is actually your cousin correct?"

Jeremy chuckles and says, "Dude, she tried to kill you.  I think you can call her Elena."

Henri and I nod when Kol raises his eyebrow, so Jeremy nods, too, but asks, "Fine have it your way, but yeah, she's my cousin, why?"

Kol grins at him and asks, "Humor me for a minute.  So, _Elena's_ biological father is your uncle you said?"

Jeremy nods slowly, so Kol asks him, "How is she related to Katerina?"

Jeremy frowns and scratches his chin before he says, "I think her mom, Isobel, was a descendant of Katherine's illegitimate daughter that she gave birth to before she went to England and met you guys.  Why?"

Kol narrows his eyes while he tries to work out the puzzle and tells everyone, "Every ghost whisperer I've ever encountered had two things that were true.  First, they died and came back to life.  It doesn't have to be a magickal resurrection like yours was either.  CPR would work, too.  Their heart and lungs simply must to stop beating and breathing long enough for them to end up on The Otherside for a time.”

He pauses and when everyone stays silent, he continues, “The second thing they all had in common is they were all supernaturals.  If they weren’t, the effect would only last for a week or two at most.  That means if you're a ghost whisperer, which you obviously are because you've had the ability for far longer than two weeks despite the temporary disruption of the ability then you also must have a supernatural somewhere in your family line.”

Jeremy’s eyes are wide open, but he doesn’t respond so Kol asks, “I don't suppose your family has a book of Ancestors or anything like Bonnie's family has?"

Jeremy frowns but nods and says, "We have a Bible that lists our family members, but it's not like Bonnie's book.  It only lists the people’s names and birth dates and their relatives both backward and forward but no other details about their lives."

Kol practically pouts and thinks for a minute before Rebekah interrupts and asks, "Kol would it work to have one of us do the Teleportation Spell on all magickal _and_ historical books, as well as personal diaries or journals associated with Jeremy, Elena, and anyone they might be related to however distantly it might be?"

Hmm, would it work?  Yes, it probably would, so Kol nods and says, "It won't hurt to try.  The worst thing that can happen is the only thing that comes is the Bible Jer mentioned.  Best case scenario every book associated with the family will arrive and we might be able to find some clues as to how Jer is a ghost whisperer without having any knowledge of a supe being in his family line."

They all nod, and before Kol can say anything else Bonnie whispers the words and a massive mountain of books lands on Kol's desk with thousands of them falling off and onto the floor.  As the pile settles at a height that's just slightly higher than her head my grandbaby giggles and says, "Um, oops.  I didn't think there would be so many that it'd create an avalanche.  Sorry."

We all laugh while Jeremy gets up and walks to the pile before bending over and picking one of the books up off the floor.  He opens it and smiles as he says, "Well my guess is it's thousands of books because it includes all my family's Founders Journals, so Jonathan's, my Dad's, Uncle John's and everyone in between.  I think I see some of Elena's too.  Elena read a bunch of our ancestors' journals, though, and she never mentioned anything about us having a supe in our haystack, but it can't hurt to reread them all, and I've never seen all these other books."

Henri proves that impatience isn't just Kol's thing by telling Jeremy, "We need to find the spells first then we can worry about your family line and who was in it."

Jeremy laughs and continues his thought, "Although I think my gut and Henrik are both _loudly_ telling us to look for his spells first because figuring out how I'm a ghost whisperer is not nearly as important as making your brother visible to all of you."

Rebekah walks to the pile on her brother's desk and asks, "Jeremy would you mind if we move these to the spare room you used when you stayed here for Christmas?  Because it's a suite of rooms like this one, there should be more than enough shelves in the bedroom and the study.  I think I can even do the Teleportation Spell in such a manner as to put them all on the shelves organized by author and in chronological order without us having to manually move them all."

Jeremy grins and waves his hand, "Go for it."

Rebekah smiles back and nods before holding her hands over the pile and whispering a slightly altered version of Bonnie's Teleportation Spell.  When she says the last word the books all vanish. 

She then opens her eyes and smiles widely before zipping out of the room.  She says, "Yay!" a moment before she returns to Kol's study.  She smiles at all of them, and she bounces on her toes before she says, "It worked.  I'll show you how to get to the room from this one when you go to leave."

Jeremy nods just when Bonnie finishes putting the books from Haiti into piles.  My precious girl smiles while she turns to face us and says, "I sorted them by author whenever possible.  Jer, does Henrik have any clue who wrote the book?"

That is one of many reasons Kol loves Bonnie.  She's always thinking and often figures out ways to make what they're trying to do happen more easily.  He crosses his fingers like he's seen Bonnie do a couple of times since she entered his life while they wait for Jeremy to tell them his brother's answer.

Henri answers in the negative and then makes a suggestion, so Jer smiles and says in the direction of open air, "Okay, that'll probably help some even if you don't know for sure.  We can look through those books first, and if they're not in one of them, then we can just keep looking."

Henri is nodding his cute little head before Jeremy turns to Kol and says, "He said he thinks Nephtalie or Nadège might have them in one of their books.  The good news is he thinks the two spells are in more than one of the books you have from Haiti."

Kol nods and walks to Bonnie and her piles.  He remembers what some of Nephtalie and Nadège's books looked like, so he picks up two books and hands one to Bonnie before handing the other to Rebekah.  Bonnie passes her book to Caroline and then grabs another book off the same pile and hands it to Jeremy.  Kol picks up another book and then motions to the leather chairs before saying, "Feel free to sit while you read."

They all nod and move to sit before Kol walks to his desk and picks up his chair and carries it over to his friends who are already studiously looking through their books.

Us ghosts all lean over someone's shoulder and read what they're reading just to keep us from getting bored.  Although, between Jeremy's curious questions about different spells and Kol's humorous stories about his time in Haiti it'd be difficult to get bored. 

At half past one, Kol looks to his left at the pile of books, fifteen or twenty of them, that we've already gone through.  He sighs and clears his throat before telling the teens, "Perhaps we should resume our search tomorrow because all five of us seem unable to fully keep our eyes open while we read.  We don't want to miss the spells because we need sleep and are too tired to recognize what we're searching for."

Bonnie yawns a jaw snapping yawn then says, "I really wanted to find it tonight, so we could do the spell so you and Beks can see your brothers and sister."

Kol smiles and tells her honestly, "While I appreciate that I wouldn't have actually allowed any of us to do the spell tonight anyway because we are all far too tired to safely perform even the simplest magick at this point, and for the record, these two spells are not going to be simple."

Bonnie pouts but nods as do the others just before Jeremy laughs at Henrik's complaints about mortals needing sleep and suggests that Jeremy needle Kol to change his mind.  I shake my head at the ghost the same time Jeremy does the same and says, "Sorry, Henrik, but even I know he's too stubborn for me to change his mind, especially when it's a matter of safety."

Kol grins and chuckles before telling everyone, but namely Henrik, "He's not wrong.  Keep in mind Henri that Beks and I are rather fond of our new friends, so keeping them safe is the number one priority."

Jeremy smiles and says, "He's pouting but nodding.  God, it must have been hell trying to deny him anything when he was alive, huh?"

Rebekah and Kol both nod deeply and Henri’s siblings all say at the same time, "You have no idea."

Jeremy just smiles, so Kol grins back and turning to the two younger women he asks, "Little Bella and Caroline, are you both good to drive?"

They nod, so he stands and leads them out of his room.  Rebekah pauses while they follow them down the side hallway.  Kol led them this way so that she can point to the suite she put Jer's books into.  When they get to it, she tells Jeremy, "That's the room that now has all your family's books, Jeremy.  Feel free to come by any time and read them at your leisure.  I figure them being here will be more hassle than help, though, in terms of you having ease of access, so if you can work on making room for them in your house, I'm sure one of us will be happy to Teleport them all into your house for you."

Jeremy nods and tells his crush, "Honestly, I don't mind them being here because it will give me a plausible excuse to come and visit you all but thank you for the suggestion."

She smiles back while they walk down the stairs.  Bonnie walks to the hidden closet in the wall and opens it to get her lightweight jacket while Caroline and Jeremy go into the den to collect their coats. 

The three teens hug each other and then Bonnie hugs Kol and Rebekah before Caroline surprises them both by embracing them, too.  Caroline pulls away and with a sheepish grin on her face and says, "Sorry, I usually hug my friends, even the guys, so you'll have to get used to the hugging if you want to be my friend."

Kol laughs and tells her, "No worries Caroline, you merely took me by surprise, but the hug itself was not unwelcome."

While Caroline spoke, Jeremy was hugging Rebekah.  When they pull apart Rebekah smiles and tells Caroline, "We've never been particularly huggy, but I think that had more to do with the times in which we were raised, but I don't mind hugging now."

Jeremy walks to Kol and shakes his hand before telling him, "Thank you times a million for writing the spell to give me back my arms.  I know you said we're even, but if there is ever anything I can do for you don't hesitate to ask, okay?"

Kol smiles and nods before telling the teen, "I'll keep that in mind, Jeremy."

Bonnie opens the door then turns back and tells Rebekah, "I'll pick you up at 7:45 a.m. tomorrow okay?"

After Rebekah says, "I'll be waiting with bells on," the three teens file out of the house, and Rebekah and Kol stand in the doorway watching them get into their cars and drive off. 

When they can no longer see them, they head back into the house before Rebekah hugs her brother and says, "I can't wait to see Henri, Finn, and Freya again!  Can we keep looking because we don't have to drive home?"

He chuckles but tells her, "Provided you can get up in time to go to school, I have no problem with you continuing the search.  I planned to read the books until I fall asleep anyway."

She nods while they walk up the stairs and they both end up reading for another hour and a half before they both fall fast asleep sitting up.

After they're dozing, I decide to go watch over Bonnie while she sleeps so I leave Freya, Finn, and Henri to watch over their siblings.

 

**______________________________________________________________________________**

 

**Author's Notes:** FYI I had and then wrote the idea about a spell to make ghosts visible all on my own.  Then a week later I read a tremendous Klaroline story called **'End and Beginnings'** by **Clairegleek** , which has a similar idea.  Although I thought of the idea independently, I would like to give a **shout out to Clairegleek** for also having such a great idea. 

And while I'm on the subject, **her story ROCKS** and takes some twisty turns that I honestly didn't see coming when I read it the first time.  So, **if you like Klaroline** and haven't read it yet **go look it up on Fanfiction** because it's totally worth the time it takes to read all 27 chapters.  Here, I'll make it easier for you all, **the link is…** [https://www.fanfiction.net/s/9262032/1/End-And-Beginnings](http://https:/www.fanfiction.net/s/9262032/1/End-And-Beginnings)  You’re welcome.

 


	17. When You’re Ready

**______________________________________________________________________________**

**Chapter 017**

**When You’re Ready**

**______________________________________________________________________________**

**Thursday, January 20, 2011, 5:30 a.m.**

**Bonnie's Bedroom**

**______________________________________________________________________________**

They returned Jer's arms to him last night, and when I finally left the Mikaelson home and went to watch Bonnie sleep, I found her spending half the night tossing and turning while she tried talking herself out of saying yes to Kol's proposal that she move to New Orleans with him and his family. 

Hours later she's still debating with herself.  She silently rambles to herself, _'Apparently, they like me well enough that they want me to come with them?  It's not like they need me for my magick either because they all now have their own magick back, so that means they just genuinely enjoy my company as much as I enjoy theirs, and they don't want to part ways with me apparently any more than I want to part ways with them.'_  

Those facts cause a warm fuzzy feeling to spread throughout her chest, and her eyes tear up just slightly, but she pushes down the urge to cry even if they would be tears of happiness. 

Of course, then she thinks there is the question of exactly how much Kol personally wants her to go with them.  _'Did he only invite me because his siblings wanted to invite me, or would he actually miss me enough, if I stayed behind, to prompt him to invite me to come with them?  I mean I know he genuinely likes me as a friend.  That much is abundantly clear, but is there something more going on here?  Could he maybe like,_ 'like' _like me?'_   She giggles at that thought and then tells herself, _'God, 'does he_ 'like' _like me,'_ really _Bonnie?  How old am I?'_  

Her eyes narrow and she thinks hard, _'Seriously though, he's mentioned multiple times just about every day that he's just waiting on me to come to him and tell him I'm ready, but is he serious, or is he joking?  At first, he presented it as a joke of sorts or at least in good humor, but the longer I've known him, the less funny it sounds, and the more serious it seems even if it is mixed in with jokes.'_  

What she doesn't know is if it seems less like a joke because of _her_ feelings for him or if he's actually getting more and more serious about it.  Plus, if his words _are_ more and more serious and he truly intends them to be taken that way, is it because _he_ has actual feelings for her or is he merely hard up for some sex? 

To her knowledge, he hasn't entertained any women in that way since they made their truce, so she incorrectly thinks that it's entirely possible she's just the easiest avenue to get his fix. 

In truth, Kol hasn't entertained any lady friends in that manner because there is only one woman he wants that way, and she is currently talking herself in circles while trying to figure out what Kol is after.

Frowning my precious granddaughter rolls onto her back and stares up at the ceiling.  She knows for a fact that he is her friend.  There is no doubt whatsoever in her mind that he cares for her.  She just doesn't know how deep it goes.  She knows he wouldn't want to do anything that would hurt her physically _or_ emotionally, so she doesn't think he'd sleep with her and then drop her like a hot potato. 

That begs the question if he's not out to have sex with her and then get rid of her, then does he want to be friends with benefits? 

I chuckle at that because Kol is incredibly unlikely to want to be a friend with benefits.  No more than Bonnie wants to be friends with benefits because she thinks, _'Because as tempting as that really is I was completely serious when I told Caroline I was waiting for it to be real and forever.  I don't want to be anyone's friend with benefits.  I want to be someone's forever.  Or at least their 'until death do us part' because I'm mortal.  I don't know how to figure out exactly what Kol is after though without making a fool of myself.'_  

She also doesn't know if going to New Orleans will make her more or less likely to make a fool of herself.   In fact, she thinks it might already be too late because she didn't stop and think about any of this before she went and kissed the man.  _'And, oh, what a kiss it was.'_   Her lips are still tingling.  It was _that_ amazing.

Back to the problem at hand, though, she wonders, _'Do I dare go live with The Original Family?  Ugh, I'm clueless.  Let's ignore the relationship part for a minute because I've been worrying about that part for weeks now, and I'm no closer to an answer now than I was six weeks ago.  So, moving along, right now I mostly sleep at my dad's house, but that, showering, and eating breakfast are all I do here, so living with the Mikaelsons wouldn't be too different in that respect I don't think.'_  

She pauses and then frowns, _'Although I'd suddenly be sharing space with the Mikaelson's and that makes me tense because hello they're The Original Family.  I don't know many who wouldn't tense up at the idea of living with four 1,000-plus-years-old vampires.’_

She sighs and then thinks, _‘Then there is the fact that I'd be leaving behind everything and everyone I know to go to a strange city I've never been to before, and my friends won't be a five-minute car ride away if I get into trouble.  Or that's not right, the Mikaelsons will be a five-minute car ride away, but Caroline and Jeremy, and yes even Damon, would be more than 15 hours away by car.  I'd have to rely solely on myself and the Mikaelsons to stay alive.'_  

She can admit, though, that she trusts them to keep her safe, and she's slowly beginning to understand that keeping her happy makes _them_ happy so…

Plus, that linking spell Kol wants to do with her, well that will keep her alive for all time, so staying alive would be much easier than it currently is. 

She wonders with another frown on her pretty face, _'And can I just say, what the hell?  Kol's linking spell will make me just as immortal as he is.  The fact that he's suggesting it implies that he genuinely wants to know me for the rest of eternity otherwise why would he suggest a spell that would make me not killable.  It's not like he needs any of the plus sides of that spell either, so he must be proposing it because of what it will mean for me.  And I'm back to the relationship questions because I can't figure out why he wants to know me for all of eternity?  Is it an 'I want to be BFF's for eternity' type of thing or is it more along the lines of my 'real and forever' requirement?'_

She rubs at her eye as a pulse of pain shoots through her skull prompting her to think, _'God, now I'm giving myself a headache I'm worrying so hard about all of this.  Okay so let's lay it out like I'm five-years-old and need it told to me in small words, so I'll better understand.  He wants me around forever.  That's a fact that I know is true based on what The Linking Spell does and the fact that he wants me to do the spell.  So then does the why really matter at this point?  He definitely wants me around for the rest of his existence, and that's pretty cool.  The why I can deal with at some other time once I've figured out what exactly his goals are where I'm concerned without making a fool of myself.'_

She giggles then says out loud, "Oh my God, I think I'm going to say yes and move to New Orleans."  She thinks her dad is probably going to freak out, and the others will totally freak out too.  If she's honest with herself, though. I mean well and truly honest, she's fallen in love with Kol.  She really doesn't want to be separated from him even if he doesn't return her feelings, which she thinks maybe he might.  _'Ugh, there I go again.  So yes, I'll go to New Orleans with him, and I'll just see where things go with us.'_

She smiles slightly and then says out loud, "Elijah will help me with my GED so my Dad will be happy, and I already applied to two colleges down there, and I might even be able to get my GED early enough that I can get in for The Fall Semester.  Although if not, I can definitely start in the Spring."

She grins and thinks, _'So much for talking myself out of agreeing to go to New Orleans,'_ but her head and her heart agree that it's the right move for her at this point in her life.  Despite lying in bed right now, she jumps and brings her hand to her chest when her alarm decides this is the perfect time to go off. 

She leans over and turns it off.  She intentionally set it for an hour early so she can catch her father early enough that they can talk a bit instead of her just handing him his breakfast and him running out the door two seconds later after shoveling it into his mouth without bothering to taste any of it like he usually does.

My grandbaby hops out of bed and grabs her clothes for the day and then brings them to the upstairs bathroom.  Leaving them there she goes down the stairs and knocks on Rudy's door.  He opens it while buttoning his shirt.  The compelled ass smiles when he sees her and asks, "Is something wrong, Bonnie?"

She shakes her head and smiles before cautiously telling her father, "No I just… I have something I need to talk to you about, and I'm hoping you'll have time before you leave.  It shouldn't take too long, maybe 15 minutes tops and even then, I think that's on the high end."

The man who has the distinction of being one of a very few individuals I genuinely feel hatred for smiles and says, "I'm almost ready now, so I'll be out in a minute, and we can talk, okay?"

My baby girl nods and goes and sits in the living room.  She actively resists the urge to bite her nails she's so tense, and she's not usually a nail-biter, but she desperately needs a release. Bringing up something like this to her father would normally terrify her, but now that Kol, Rebekah, Elijah, and Niklaus have compelled him he's been letting her do everything she wants without putting up much fight.  

Before she can figure out how to get that much-needed release Rudy walks into the room.  He sits down in the chair beside the couch and turns to face his daughter before he says, "So what do you want to talk about, Bonnie?"

Tangling her fingers in her lap, she trembles and takes a deep breath before she decides the direct and firm approach will work best, so she tells him, "I've decided to move to New Orleans.  I'm not sure of the when just yet, but it'll probably be in the next week or two, and I'll be going with the Mikaelson's.  Elijah, Beks oldest brother, has offered to help me study for my GED because it's halfway through the school year so I'd end up having to repeat my Senior year if I don't take the test.  I wanted to make sure to tell you now, so you don't hear it from someone else, like Care, because I know you deserve better than that.  So, uh, I'm going to be moving, but I'm thinking about my future too so um…"

Very surprisingly despite the many compulsions the abusive ass is under, he smiles and says, "You thought I'd get angry and forbid you to go?  That's why you told me what you're doing without asking for my opinion?"

She’s still trembling, but she nods, so he smiles wider and says, "If you weren't making sure to take care of your education I might have objected, but really, you're an adult Bonnie.  You take care of this house and me.  You take care of yourself, and you still manage to be on the Cheer Team, in the National Honor Society, you do 30 hours of community service every semester and 60 during the summers as part of the NHS.  Last I heard, you're ranked in the top ten for student GPA's in your class, so you do exceptionally well in school, and all of that doesn't even take into consideration the supernatural threats you've dealt with in the last year or so."

She frowns at his list of the things she does.  He's never said anything nice about her like this unless someone else was present and he needed to make people believe he's a loving and caring father.  Still, she doesn't bother telling him that she's actually ranked third behind Caroline and another boy who moved to Mystic Falls their Freshman year. 

Rudy's still talking, which brings about a deeper frown to her face when he says, "I know you made a bad choice recently.  I've been talking with your mother, and she says you've been checking with her before you do any of that magick stuff and that you've been showing that your good sense has returned.  So, I'm less inclined to worry about you.  The fact is we all make mistakes sometimes, but you've shown real maturity and determination not to repeat your mistakes.  I'll miss you, and I'll have to teach myself how to take care of myself again because you've been spoiling me.”

He grins and then says, “Provided you really do study hard and get your GED in a timely manner, I'll make sure you continue to have a healthy weekly allowance so you can pay all your bills.  Because you'll have more expenses to worry about, I'll even include a little extra so that you and Rebekah can have fun shopping sometimes.  All I ask is that you call regularly, so I know you're okay, and I'd appreciate a visit or two maybe for Christmas and perhaps a week or two during the summer."

She thinks, _'Um, wow.  Thank you, Kol.'_   Smiling widely, she asks him, "Seriously?  You're not angry?"

He shakes his head no, so she smiles wider and then hops up and hugs him, "Thank you, Dad.  You're the best!"

He chuckles and tells her, "Don't get me wrong, I will miss you, but you're at that age when the child leaves home and goes out into the world to live their life, and although I've been dreading it, I find I'm actually pretty excited for you.  Let me know when your plans firm up, okay?"

She nods and then asks him, "Do you need me to make breakfast before I go shower?  You seem like you're ready earlier than usual."

Smiling when he stands, he then kisses her forehead before he says, "No, Liz and I and a few others are having a meeting over breakfast to discuss the significant drop in suspicious deaths and 'wild animal' attacks in the last month and a half.  We're confident that our vampire problem is gone, for the time being, so now we need to work out better ways to detect them in the first place so that if any come back, we'll be able to take care of them before any of our citizens die.  Anyway, I decided to have the meeting catered to make sure we don't all end up just eating donuts because I know how much my daughter disapproves when I eat so much sugar in one sitting."

Laughing, she nods and tells him, "Okay, then I'll see you later.  Have a good day."

The pod-person Kol has turned my daughter's ex-husband into nods before he hugs his daughter one more time and tells her, "You too, Bonnie," then he walks back towards his room to put his shoes on.

My grandbaby thinks, _'Wow, that went much better than I thought it would even with the Mikaelson's compulsions in place.'_  

She finds herself glad that Abby hasn't shared her distrust of The Originals with Rudy.  _'I mean he doesn't even seem to know that they're vampires, especially if he thinks the vampire problem has left town, which works in my favor, but I'm still surprised that Abby hasn't ranted to Dad about the stupidity of trusting an original never mind trusting all of them.  And let's face it, I do actually trust every single last one of them.'_  

Oh, don't get me wrong she's still wary of Niklaus sometimes because he does mean things on occasion like trying to dagger his brother yesterday, but we've both noticed a pattern in that regard.  His, what I'll call, jackass behavior, only happens when he feels threatened.  Neither of us knows what the threat was yesterday, but we know him well enough now to know there was some implied or inferred threat, or at least that that's how he felt. 

Anyway, the point is, she trusts him not to hurt her, if only because she knows Kol and Rebekah would give him hell if he did, but she's also beginning to recognize that he isn't hurting her for her own benefit too now that she's stopped being a threat to him. 

She's even pretty sure he considers her to be his friend, possibly his only friend, _'Well other than Caroline at least, but he's got a thing for her, so she doesn't count as_ just _a friend.'_  

And it goes without saying that she thinks she mostly trusts Kol, Rebekah, and Elijah.  She thinks there's a little room for her trust to get stronger and firmer, but it's only a little itty-bitty bit left until she'll trust them entirely without question

She doesn't think her feelings for Kol are the reason either.  She thinks she'd trust them all just the same if she only liked Kol as a friend.

Shaking her head, Bonnie then heads back upstairs to get ready for the day.

**______________________________________________________________________________**

 

My granddaughter is smiling like a ninny at about 7:40 when she shows up at the Mikaelson's house to pick Rebekah up for school, so Rebekah looks at her sideways after she slides into the passenger seat and asks, "What has you so happy this morning?"

Bonnie grins wider and asks, "If I tell you, then you have to swear not to tell anyone, not even your brothers, _especially_ not your brothers.  I want to be the one to tell them.  Do you swear?"

Rebekah has no idea what this secret could be, but if Bonnie, whom she now considers her little sister, wants to be the one to tell people, then she certainly won't deny her that opportunity, so she nods with wide blue eyes and says, "I swear, Bon."

Bonnie smiles before she pulls away from the Mikaelson’s home.  When they're about three minutes away from the house, Rebekah is practically vibrating when she asks, "Well, what's the big secret?"

Still smiling my grandbaby cuts her eyes over to her and asks, "Can Kol hear us from here?"

Rebekah tilts her head and narrows her eyes before smiling and shaking her head and then says, "No, although his senses are better than mine.  I think he was still asleep, so I can't hear him, but in the past, though, neither of us have been able to hear anyone at the house from this far away, so we should be far enough away that he can't hear us either if he's actually awake."

Bonnie nods and tells the still curious Rebekah, "I'm going to tell Kol that I want to go to New Orleans with all of you."

Rebekah smiles broadly and lets out a deep breath while her muscles relax before she tells Bonnie, "Oh thank God.  I wasn't sure how to handle Kol if you decided not to come.  This is definitely the preferred outcome."

Bonnie nods and tells her, "Yeah, so I'm really just going to school to inform them that I'm dropping out and to ask how to go about getting my GED in Louisiana."

Rebekah giggles and says, "If you're not staying then neither am I."

My granddaughter laughs, and when they get to the school, they head inside and walk down the hall towards the office.  The crowd parts for them while they walk and like usual everyone is staring.  My baby girl used to think they were just staring at her friend, but Rebekah has assured Bonnie that they're staring at her, also, since _hello_ she's _'a hottie,'_ too. 

My granddaughter laughed when Rebekah told her that, but it's still true. 

Now they enter the office and request to speak with the principle.  After the secretary buzzes them into Mr. McMahon's office, Bonnie explains what's going on to which he says, "I'm saddened to hear that you're choosing not to finish school."

The man I know for a fact supports all my ex-son-in-law’s agendas clearly wasn't listening, so my girl smiles and repeats herself, "I'm planning to get my GED because I'm moving so late in the year that I figure I'd end up having to repeat my Senior year.   This way I'll just take the GED, and then I don't have to wait a full year to go to college."

The annoying man sighs in relief and says, "I'm so happy to hear that Ms. Bennett."

She nods and then smiles wider when Rebekah tells him, "I'm dropping out too for the same reasons, and my brother is going to help us _both_ study for the GED exam." 

She then looks into his eyes and compels him, "You will not tell anyone that we are dropping out, planning to move, _or_ take the GED exam."

He repeats the vampire's words to her so after the principle gives them the number to call about taking the GED, Rebekah smiles and tells him, "Thank you for your time," then she leads Bonnie out of the office and down the hall. 

Caroline's voice stops them halfway to the door, so they turn when she says, "Bonnie, Rebekah, uh, our class is this way," and she finishes by tilting her head in the direction their first class is usually in.

My grandbaby smiles and tells her, "We're not going.  I'll explain why later, promise, but your track record with secrets dictates that you need to be the last to know, but I can't wait to tell you, so I'll come by either later today or tomorrow depending on if I catch everyone else I need to tell today or not."

Caroline frowns and looks at Rebekah for a minute with narrowed eyes, and Rebekah can tell her thoughts are going.  So, can Bonnie so she smiles and puts her hand on Caroline’s shoulder before she tells her slightly neurotic best friend, "Caroline Forbes you're still my Bestie.  Beks is not, I repeat _not,_ replacing you.  She is in my life now, for sure, and she has quickly become my other Bestie, but she's an addition to my life, _not_ a Caroline replacement, as in including both of you not instead of either one of you.  You're not losing me, okay?"

Wow, Rebekah is fighting tears at that proclamation.  She hasn't had a best friend since she was human, or well, Marcel was sort of a best friend for a while, but she was in love with him, and he chose eternity over a human lifetime with her, so in her opinion, he doesn't count. 

So, it's been about 1,009 years since she last had a best friend.  Incidentally, her best friend back then was also Kol's love, Eija, so they seem to be repeating history in that sense, but she also knows they won't be repeating any of the tragic parts of their previous story.

Caroline has tears in her eyes while she nods and says, "I'm sorry I told Klaus and Tyler your personal stuff."

Bonnie nods and smiles gently before telling her, "I know, and I forgave you after you apologized, so that's not really why I'm not telling you my secret now.  I mean it _is_ , but it's not as punishment.  It's just so I can have fun telling everyone the news and, I hope, avoid some uncomfortable or tense scenes by telling people myself.  You can't help yourself, and I know this, so instead of setting you up to blab, I'm setting it up so you can't.  That way I won't be mad at you again because I hate that, and I can still share my joy with you later.  Okay?"

Caroline nods, so Bonnie hugs her and tells her, "I'll call you later and let you know if I catch everyone I need to catch today."

Caroline nods again, smiles at the original and Bonnie each in turn, and then walks towards her first class. 

My granddaughter turns back to Rebekah when the tears the original had been fighting overflow.  Next thing my grandbaby knows her arms are full of crying original. 

Bonnie opens her mouth to question Rebekah but the older girl whispers in her ear, "You're my Bestie too."

Bonnie breathes out a sigh that it's nothing terrible, and while she pats her friend gently on the back, she tells her, "I know, and I'm glad I have you in my life."

She pauses and then remembering what Caroline and Rebekah have both told her in the past about how hard it is to hear specific conversations in such a crowded and noisy place she obviously feels they're safe from prying ears.  So, she lowers her voice a bit and then tells Rebekah, "And hey we get to take over New Orleans together.  Just think of all the fun that's to be had."

Rebekah lets go of her and wipes at her eyes while she nods and tells her, "I can show you all of my old haunts, and we can go shopping."

Bonnie nods and smiling widely tells her, "We can because although I don't get my trust fund until my 21st birthday, my dad agreed that if I study hard and get my GED in a timely fashion, he'll make sure I have a sizable allowance each week to have fun with my friends."

She pauses then smiles and says, "Fortunately, he doesn't seem to know that you're all vampires, so he's okay with me moving with you guys provided I promise to come and visit a couple times a year and call regularly."

Rebekah smiles and despite how much she hates 'the asshole' who's been hitting Bonnie her whole life she tells my grandbaby, "Oh, I'm glad.  I worried he'd try to stop you, and you'd lose another important person to you."

Bonnie nods and tells her, "I honestly think he knew that would happen, too, so between all of your compulsions and dad not wanting to lose me, he's letting me do what I want without putting up a fight so that I'll stay in touch and not abandon him like Abby did."

Rebekah puts her hand in the crook of Bonnie's elbow and while she says, "Well I'm glad it's working out so well for us," she leads her back out to the parking lot.

They pass Elena and Stefan on the way out.  The two girls smile like crazy at Bonnie's old friends.  The two younger vampires scowl hard at them, and the girls both laugh hysterically at the looks on their faces before the giggling duo gets into Bonnie’s white Prius. 

Rebekah smiles and asks, "Did you see Elena's face?  She's definitely not happy.  That makes my day!"

My granddaughter just laughs while she puts the car into drive and pulls out of the parking lot.  "She definitely wasn't happy to see us so happy.  I wish she could see reason, though.  I mean Jer said it yesterday, Caroline's turning was far more traumatic than Elena's was, and Elena is acting like she's the only one who's had bad things happen to her.  She's even giving Caroline the 'You don't understand' attitude.  Never mind that not only did Caroline not ask to become a vampire but at the time she died she didn't even know you all exist, so how the heck does Caroline not understand what it's like to be turned against her will and suddenly finding herself craving human blood.  I mean if anything you'd think Elena would have gravitated to Caroline because their experiences are so similar, but she's actually been pushing her away more often than not."

Rebekah smiles gently and says, "No offense, I know you still care for her, but she's a spoiled, stuck-up, snob who only cares about herself and what's happening to her.”

She shrugs and says, “It's part of why Kol was so gung-ho, the night you saved him, to become your friend.  When he came home, he said he could see in Elena's eyes how angry she was that you were preventing her from doing what she wanted to do.  He realized that you were going to suffer for saving him and Nik even though you did it to protect _all_ _your_ friends.”

She glances at Bonnie and says, “My brother realized that you were essentially going to be alone because everyone is always so concerned with Elena and what she wants and needs, and he realized no one was taking care of your needs.  He told me that night after I finished hugging the heck out of him that he wanted to become your friend, the person you could count on most in the world.  He said you’re amazing, and you deserve to have at least one strong person helping you hold everything together.”

She shrugs again and glancing at Bonnie, says, “He also knew you would be dead within a few weeks if you didn't get your natural magick back because the dark magick would devour you whole like it has so many of his previous friends.  He was sure that Caroline and Jeremy would remain your friends, but he was certain you would lose Elena, and so he nominated himself as her replacement." 

She pauses then turns her face to look at Bonnie, and while Bonnie glances at her before returning her gaze to the road, she sees understanding in her eyes when Rebekah says, "I don't mean that as cold as it sounds either.  He's not _replacing_ her because it's what he wants but because it's how _she_ set it up."

Bonnie nods and smiles before she tells her, "I figured out pretty early that he intended to become my friend.  I mean he told me up front in the car ride to the coffee shop.  He also told me how he figured I didn't have much support or anyone really caring about what happened to me and that he wanted to fill both roles and be my friend.  Once I realized he wasn't as evil as Elena made him out to be, which for the record happened pretty quickly, I decided that I was going to let him be my friend.  Not just because of what he was offering to do for me, but because I figured after living for 1,029 years he was probably pretty lonely, too.  So, I thought he could probably use a good friend just as much as I could.  It's also why I offered all of you my friendship at the beach.  I realized you all were very lonely and that you only had each other, and while that's still true, now you all have me too and probably Care and Jer as well."

Rebekah smiles before she nods and says, "We're incredibly lucky you decided to essentially take in four vampires.  I mean my life was fulfilling before we knew you, but you bring this quality to my, _our_ , lives that I've never experienced before.  Or at least not since I was human.  I had girlfriends when I was human, but the world was so incredibly different back then, so I never really had the sort of relationship you and I have, and I know my brothers feel the same way."

Bonnie nods and pulls into the Mikaelson's driveway.  She parks the car and turns to look at Rebekah before she tells her, "You have no idea how grateful I am that God gave me that premonition and that He urged Kol to offer me his friendship.  Honestly, my life would suck in many ways that it currently doesn't if I didn't have all of you in my life and that doesn't even consider the thing with my dad.  I consider the four of you family just like I do with Jer and Caroline."

Rebekah smiles before reaching over and hugging her friend again while she tells my grandbaby, "We're all lucky to have each other.  While I usually wouldn't try to speak for my brothers, I think I can safely say that we all return the sentiment.  You're young, and not immortal but you're one of us all the same."

Now Bonnie has tears in her eyes while she hugs Rebekah back.  When they separate, she laughs and flips down her visor to check her make-up in the mirror before she tells the older girl, "You really need to figure out why that make-up spell never works."

Rebekah laughs at that, and when Bonnie's sure her make-up isn't a mess, she opens the door and gets out of her car, so she can tell Kol her news right away.

My baby girl clearly has butterflies breakdancing in her stomach while she walks into their home.  Rebekah looks at her and laughs, "Go, go tell him.  Come and find me later when you're done _celebrating_."

Bonnie giggles back and tells her, "Get your mind out of the gutter, Beks.  There will be none of _that_ happening."  

Rebekah knows that's only because Bonnie hasn't given Kol the green light just yet, but she knows Bonnie is getting closer and closer to giving in to her desire for Kol so at her disbelieving stare Bonnie adds, "Well not today at least."

Giggling Rebekah asks the question we all already know the answer to, "But, soon right?"

Bonnie turns bright red before Rebekah just laughs and says, "I knew it!  I'm so excited.  I'm getting a new sister."

My grandbaby playfully swats at her older friend and tells her, "Shut up he can probably hear you, and I want to be the one to tell him."

Rebekah smirks and tells her, "Then you better hurry."

Laughing at that, Bonnie walks up the stairs towards Kol's room.

Kol has just finished his morning shower.  When he exits his bathroom with a puff of steam in nothing but a tiny towel that leaves little to the imagination a gasp catches his attention.  He looks up into Bonnie's wide eyes that are nearly popping out of her head, so he smirks because once she gets over the initial shock, her eyes rove over his practically naked form while she checks out his well-defined abdominal muscles and his thighs that attract her attention for a bit longer than his abs.  A moment later she gulps loudly and nervously says, "Uh Kol?"

He looks into her appreciative gaze and smiles, but then he frowns when he glances at the clock beside his bed and realizes that she should be in school right now, so he asks, "Little Bella, what's wrong?  Shouldn't you be in school?"

She gets her equilibrium back, so she smiles and asks, "Can I come in?"

Smiling in return the still slightly damp vampire says, "Of course, Darling.  Give me a minute, and I'll be right out."

He walks into his walk-in closet and drops his towel giving her a flash of ass just before he shuts the door.  He smiles to himself while he quickly pulls on a pair of jeans.  _'What does she think of my ass?  Does she think it's handsome like the rest of me?  Or did I fluster her so much she can't think straight and therefore has no clear thoughts on my ass?'_

Honestly, it's the latter.  He completely scrambled her thoughts though she very much appreciated the glimpse of flesh he gave her. 

I just shake my head.  She stands no chance against Kol and his flirtatious ways.

Not even ten seconds later he brings his towel to his hair and opens the closet door interrupting the instant replay of his naked ass playing on a loop in my granddaughter's mind.  Her eyes widen again when he reveals that he's only wearing a pair of low-slung dark wash jeans and nothing else. 

He's rubbing his hair with the towel while she tears her eyes away from his slightly hairy chest.  She's never really seen a guy without their shirt on, well, not in a bedroom setting anyway.  She's seen plenty of relatively hairless chests during the summer when she hangs out with her friends, but she's never really looked before.

Shaking her head to clear her thoughts, she then walks to and sits in one of the chairs in the corner of his room that Kol moved back in here after Bonnie and the others left last night. 

He follows her and sits across from her, and then he puts the towel around his neck and asks again, "You're killing me, Little Bella, what's wrong?  Why aren't you in school?"

Smiling she asks him, "You weren't kidding about your lack of patience, were you?"

He grins and nods but says, "No I wasn't.  I was completely serious, so unless you want me to tickle the reason out of you stop stalling and tell me what's wrong."

My baby girl's eyes widen when he threatens to tickle her.  She thinks that that sounds fun enough for her to purposefully stall, but then she looks into his eyes and sees the worry plain as day so still smiling she tells him, "Nothing's actually wrong."

She takes a deep breath before she wrings her hands in her lap which just causes his muscles to tense.  She's clearly nervous about whatever she's about to tell him. 

She nods once to herself then she tells him, "I dropped out."

His eyes widen, and he frowns before he leans forward and asks, "You dropped out of school?" 

She nods before his frown deepens, and he narrows his eyes and asks, "Why did you do that?"

She smiles at him, and he feels a little sliver of hope bloom in his chest because he realizes on his own why she likely dropped out.  After taking a deep calming breath, she releases it and then answers his prayers by saying, "Because you can't get your GED if you're a registered student."

His chestnut eyes widen again before he grins at her despite her nervous fidgeting, "Tell me that means what I think it means."

Smiling she leans forward and tells him, "Well, if you think it means I'm agreeing to move to New Orleans with you, then yes it means exactly what you think it means."

She barely gets the last word out before he pulls her up out of her seat, and he's sitting where she was sitting a moment ago, and she's now in his lap, and his lips are trying to devour hers. 

Throwing her arms around his neck she thankfully just goes with it. 

Kol thinks, _'Hmm, Bonnie's kisses are very nice,'_ and his toes want to curl from the intense pleasure, and they're only touching at their lips. 

He thinks, _'My word, what will it be like if, when, we do more than just kiss?'_  

Unfortunately for Kol, she needs to come up for air, so she pulls back and smiles before asking, "So does that mean you still want me to come with you?"

He grins and nods deeply before telling her, "God, yes, more than anything I've ever wanted in my long life."

She lays her cheek against his bare shoulder and just sits on his lap luxuriating in the fact that they're together.

She sits up abruptly and frowns before she asks, "Um, not to sound girlie or childish but does this mean we're dating?"

He laughs and smiles before saying, "Absolutely."

Letting out a deep sigh she giggles and asks, "So that means you're my boyfriend?"

He nods slowly and says, "And you're my girlfriend." 

He pauses, and then at the risk of bringing up things he maybe shouldn't this early in their budding relationship he tells her, "I've never actually had one of those before just so you know."

She pulls up short at that, "But you've…"

He smiles and pushes some of her hair behind her ear before he tells her honestly, perhaps a little too honestly, "I've had sex with more people than I can remember, and I've had longtime lovers.  I've even been in love a couple of times, but I've never dated or really courted anyone other than Eija and Chalina, and that was over 1,000 and 300 years ago respectively and much different than modern dating.  Mostly I've just had, I believe the modern term is, 'friends with benefits.'  You're a whole new experience for me, Bonnie, and if you also agree to The Linking Spell, you'll be a permanent fixture in my life for the rest of our existences."

My baby girl's eyes are wide, and she clearly didn't really think of it in terms of him _wanting_ her like that before she asks him, "You want me forever?  Like really?"

Now his eyes widen before he nods slowly and tells her, "If I haven't been clear about that, Little Bella, then I apologize.  I most definitely want you until The End of Days and beyond.  You are my forever girl, not a right now girl."

He almost didn't say that last part.  He really wants her to figure it all out on her own so that she'll be confident in his feelings for her without her having to rely solely on his words.  However, he also knows that she needed to hear those words, so he said them and her face clearly says _'Wow what's a girl supposed to say to that?'_  

He smiles and asks, "Do you want the same with me, Bonnie?"

Her eyes widen at his use of her first name, which he usually only does when the subject is significant, and he doesn't want her to think he's joking. 

Does she want the same with him?  She smiles widely, and the short answer to that question seems to be, 'Hell yes,' so she beams at him and says, "Absolutely, I am 100% completely yours until the end of time...  I um, well I…"

He places his finger over her lips and says, "You don't have to say anything else at this moment.  I know, and I'll wait for you to be ready to say the words.  Just as I hope you'll wait for me to be ready to say them.  I, well the last time I said them the woman, Chalina, she died, so I'm, I guess the phrase is, 'a little gun shy' now.  I think if you agree to do The Linking Spell, once I know you're safe from my enemies then I will probably be able to say the words."

Her eyes widen at Chalina's name.  Lucy mentioned to her that Mikael killed Chalina and after his reaction to getting Chalina's grimoire for Christmas she knows that he said the words and then lost her to violence, especially if she considers his worries about his enemies. 

Her eyes narrow and her back stiffens when she asks herself, _'What are the chances that he knew two women named Chalina who both died by violent means?'_  

She shakes her head slightly and then she hesitantly asks, "Um how… how did she die?  Um if you don't…"

He frowns because the memories are still excruciating, but Bonnie deserves to hear about Chalina _and_ her death from him and not one of his siblings or Josefina's descendants. 

Because she agreed to move to New Orleans and most of Josefina's line still resides there that chance is too high to put off telling her the story, so he says, "No, it's fine.  I met her in 1698 in Spain while I was traveling through Europe and trying to avoid my siblings and my father all at the same time.  I was having a bit of difficulty doing that because my anger and jealousy would often result in my creating bloodbaths.  Chalina saw me lose my temper and she froze me in place and then told me all the reasons I needed to calm the fuck down.  When she was certain I had calmed down, and I wasn't going to kill her, she released me, and I was so grateful that she stopped me from harming innocent people that I asked her if she had any idea how to help me control my anger."

He smiles at the memory and tells his new reason for existing, "She had some suggestions and offered to help me work on it and a friendship was born.  I was staying with her family, despite her father's wishes, the following year when my siblings came to town.  They almost missed me because I wasn't creating bloodbaths on a regular basis anymore, and only Rebekah hearing me laugh while she passed Chalina's home told her that I was actually in the town."

He smiles a little wider and tells her, "Nik and Elijah immediately bought a home and asked me to come and live with them.  I was missing them terribly by that point, so I agreed, but by that time I had fallen in love with Chalina, so I would go visit her every day.  I eventually convinced her father to let her come and visit me, but it was more of me threatening to kill everyone he cared about if he tried to keep her from seeing me than him agreeing.  He never liked me simply because I was a vampire."

His smile loses some of its brightness when he gets closer to the end of Chalina's tale, and he tells her, "Anyway, we were all incredibly happy together for three and a half years.  We were married on June 06, 1700 and she moved in with my siblings and me.  Unfortunately, in April of 1702 Mikael found us in the small Spanish village we were living in.  Chalina's father contacted him and told him where we were.  Anyway, Mikael tried to use her to get to us, and when that didn't work, he killed her.  I watched the whole thing happen while I argued and fought with Mikael begging him to release her from her father's house.  There was nothing I could do to save her, and Mikael had other witches working with him, so even though Chalina was a powerful witch, they were blocking him from Chalina's attempts to protect herself.  Little known fact: a vampire or other witch can compel a witch if they consent to it, so I compelled her to resist all compulsions because I feared Mikael might try to trick her into allowing him to compel her much the same way the professor tricked you into letting him hypnotize you.  Therefore, he had to use the other witches to trap her inside her family's home." 

His eyes are unfocused and staring at a spot over Bonnie's shoulder while he speaks, and she frowns when he says, "Nik threatened to dagger me if I went to Mikael and tried to save her, but I managed to sneak away, and I still wasn't able to save her.  Mikael had his witches trap her in the home, and then he set it on fire when I refused to surrender and join his side.  I can still hear her screams of pain and fear.  If I close my eyes, I can still sometimes feel the heat of the fire on my skin." 

Pain flashes in his eyes and through his chest while Chalina's face flashes in his mind.  He still feels that aching loss he felt all those years ago, despite his now loving Bonnie, while he tells her, "He wanted me to help end Nik, and no matter our differences or how many times he's daggered me, I couldn't help kill him.  He's my brother.  I just couldn't do it.  So, I chose him over her, and I've regretted that decision even though I know if I had surrendered Mikael would have used me to kill Nik and then killed Chalina and me after Nik was dead.  When she died, I might have even wanted to follow her into the afterlife.  That was the last time I loved anyone that way."

Kol pauses while the memories flash through his mind on fast forward.  Then he tells Bonnie, "After her father's house was nothing but ashes, Mikael left me to wallow in my pain.  I went to the local tavern and, I'm ashamed to admit, in my anger and grief I slaughtered everyone there.  Then I tried to drown my sorrows in as much liquor as possible." 

He pauses again while the memory of his killing those people and basically doing the exact opposite of what Chalina would have wanted him to do slowly filters through his mind, "A few hours later Elijah and Nik found me and begged me to flee with them, but I just wanted to join Chalina, my Little Rose, on The Otherside.  I refused, figuring Mikael would finish me off, but Elijah and Nik refused to leave me behind, so they double-teamed me and daggered me before carrying my coffin to the ship that took us back to the New World and what would one day be New Orleans."

She can't begin to imagine the pain of watching the person you love burn to death inside their house.  He wasn't kidding when he said she was lucky she never met Mikael because as she now knows if he could do that to his own son, then he was one of the most monstrous creatures ever. 

He sighs and reluctantly admits, "Needless to say, when I was undaggered nearly 120 years later in 1821 I was furious, and I did not behave honorably and killed a lot of innocent people to cause as much trouble for Nik as I could manage.  Mostly I wanted him to hurt like I was hurting.  Even though I was cognizant while on The Otherside and 120 years had passed, to me, it felt as if it had just happened.  Nik and Elijah and everyone else had moved on with their lives, and I just wanted to make them feel even a fraction of the pain I was being swallowed by daily."

He smiles a slightly sheepish smile and then tells her, "I only succeeded in angering Nik enough to put me back in my box within a few months.  He let me out for about 14 years at the beginning of the 20th century until he discovered I was trying to find a way to dagger him as payback for all the years he had stolen from me.  He had his own witches use the same spell Mikael's witches used against Chalina to trap my two friends in their house.”

He sighs and says, “Mary-Alice and Astrid were fiercely loyal to me, and so they were trying to help me create the dagger.  He daggered me later the next night after a party our family threw, but I understand their families brought them food and other necessities through the years.  Despite looking like they were in their late teens or early twenties, they were both in their late eighties and early nineties when Nik’s witches trapped them, so Astrid apparently died in 1987 and Mary-Alice died in early 1992 around the time you were born after having been trapped in that house for about 80 years.”

Her sigh and slowly relaxing posture tell him that she is happy that Nik only trapped his friends and didn't repeat Mikael's monstrous behavior by killing them.

He frowns slightly and says, “I plan to visit with the remnants of their families when we move back to New Orleans.  Despite the tyrannical oppression witches are enduring in the city, their relatives are still there.”

He pecks her lips and then says, “Mary-Alice's daughter contacted me shortly after I got out of my box and sent me twenty big moving boxes full of letters Mary-Alice and Astrid wrote to me before they died.  They both wrote as many as four or five letters a week from the day they discovered I had been daggered until the day they each died.  I'm still going through all of them.  I'm up to June of 1951.  As of the middle of June, they were both still fiercely loyal to me and praying that one of my siblings would undagger me.”

He sighs again, “They, of course, heard about Mikael chasing my family out of New Orleans in 1919 but they kept praying for my release so I could come back to them.  I regret that my release wasn’t in time to see them again and apologize for getting them trapped in their house by involving them in my family issues.  I will try to make it up to their families by helping free the witches if I can manage it."

He pauses again then smiles slightly and tells her, "For whatever reason, this last time I woke up I subconsciously decided to let bygones be bygones and not actively try to get payback for any perceived wrongs committed against my loved ones or me by Nik.  As loathe as I am to admit anything good came from Esther's machinations her bullshit made me, once again, realize that Nik is family, and nothing is more important than family.  Then a few months later and nearly two centuries after I first woke in New Orleans a little witch fried my brain and broke my bones in the hallway of her high school, and I was completely captured and enthralled."

He smiles a little wider at her round eyes and admits to himself that he loves her more than himself.  He doesn’t tell her that, though, and instead, he says, "I saw you were more scared of what your powers were doing than what I might do to you when you fled, and I realized the magick you were using was the blackest of the black."

He brushes her blushing cheek with his hand and then cups it before he tells her, "I wanted to help you, but first I needed to prevent Silas from rising, so I went to the Gilbert's house where you saved me despite everything.  And yes, I still realize you didn't save me to save _me_ , but you still did all the same."

He smiles then suddenly and asks, "Does this also mean you're going to agree to do The Linking Spell?"

She stiffens at his question and her eyes narrow, so he knows without a doubt that that was the other thing that had her tossing and turning half the night, so she asks, "Kol do you really think I'm cut out for forever?  I mean before you showed me the spell I hadn't thought it was possible without losing my magick, and since we don't know for sure that one of your descendants can get their magick back that meant it was impossible because I barely managed to survive a month without it, so I never wanted to give it up.  But what if I'm not cut out for eternity, and there will be no way to kill me without killing you, so I'd be stuck and I—"

He interrupts her by kissing her before he pulls back and says, "Yes, I think you have what it takes to survive forever and not only survive but flourish.  I think we'll be deliriously happy together most of the time, though I'm also realistic enough to recognize that we will have arguments from time to time because no person inside a relationship is perfect therefore no relationship is perfect.  The fact that I'm the other half of the couple means you'll have to deal with my anger and jealousy issues, though admittedly they have mellowed through the years." 

He smiles wider and tells her, "But even despite my anger management issues, I have no doubts that you'll be mostly and more often than not happy with me until The End of Days."

He knows those are some strong statements, but he means them wholeheartedly. 

My grandbaby frowns while she considers his words.  If he's wrong, she'll be stuck for all time and miserable for all of Eternity.  However, if he's right, then she'll be deliriously happy for the rest of forever. 

While he answered her question, he continued to have a steady, solid green glow about him, so she knows he believes what he's told her is the truth, so she decides to trust him and his faith in her and smiles before telling him, "Then yes, I'll do The Linking Spell with you."

Kol smiles a breathtaking smile and then leans in and kisses her tenderly.  He savors the experience, _'Hmm, so nice.'_   His tongue slides into her mouth, and she sighs into the kiss before it rubs along hers and then flits about her mouth before coming back to massage her tongue again.

His hands slide under the back of her shirt, and she freezes.  He sighs and pulls away before she whispers, "Sorry."

He pecks her on the lips before he tells her, "Little Bella, there is no need for you to apologize.  We'll never go farther or faster than what you're comfortable with.  If you're not ready for my hands under your clothes, then I can live with that, until you _are_ ready at least."

She giggles at that and then tells him, "It's not that I wasn't ready for it.  It just surprised me is all.  I, um, well, all Jer and I ever did was kiss and grope above clothes.  I'm kind of in new territory with you because Jer is the one I've gone the farthest with and I didn't want him to see my bruises that never seemed to go away, so I never let him touch bare skin."

He kisses her forehead and ignores the anger that blossoms in his chest at the bit about her old bruises.  He pulls back a moment later, smiles, and tells her, "I hate why you couldn't go farther than over the clothes groping.  Ultimately, you have no idea how much it pleases me to know that you are so very pure.  I am the only one who will ever know you that way.  When you're ready of course."

She giggles and tells him, "But of course."

Pausing, she then asks, "Um, when are we going to do the spell, and when are you all planning for us to go to New Orleans?"

His eyes sparkle when he tells her, "We can do the spell right now if you want, and I figure within the next week we'll leave.  The sooner, the better because I fear the threats to Hayley and this family are only growing, so we need to show everyone that all four surviving Mikaelsons are united and determined to protect both Hayley _and_ Nik's unborn child."

She nods showing she agrees, so he pecks her lips again and continues, "We can teleport our belongings to Elijah's house and then just bring what we need for the drive with us.  The three of us can go in your car if you like.  Or we can put your car in storage up here and take Nik's SUV.  We'll do whatever you're most comfortable with."

She shrugs but tells him, "I'd rather have my car with us so I can get around if necessary."

He nods but tells her, "According to Elijah you'll be doing a lot of walking in The Quarter, but you are correct that it would be best for you to have your car in case you need to get around other parts of the city or surrounding towns."

She smiles and nods, so he kisses her softly on the lips, and then he slips her off his lap before standing, taking her hand, and then leading her into his study.


	18. If I’m Lucky

**______________________________________________________________________________**

**Chapter 018**

**If I’m Lucky**

**______________________________________________________________________________**

**Thursday, January 20, 2011, 9:05 a.m.**

**Kol's Study**

**______________________________________________________________________________**

Kol takes Bonnie's hand leading her into his study.  Grabbing his grimoire off the shelf where he keeps it when he's not using it, he places it on the desk and opens it to The Linking Spell.  My ever-observant baby girl frowns because the spell is actually way towards the front of the book and definitely before any of the spells she's seen him write in it since he got his magick back, so she asks him, "Kol, um, when did you write The Linking Spell?"

He sighs and tells her, "I began writing it in mid-June of 1701 about 10 months before Chalina was murdered by Mikael.  I knew he wouldn't stop until we were all dead, and I worried about her safety, so I began work on the spell.  I had a challenging time writing it because the easiest way to do it would be to use dark magick.  I absolutely refused to suggest that my Little Rose do _any_ dark magick _ever_ no matter that it would keep her with me for all time, so it took longer.”

He rubs the back of his neck and says, “Anyway, obviously eventually I managed to write a non-dark version, but that didn't happen until very recently, so I didn't finish it in time to protect her.”

Bonnie grabs his hand and squeezes, so he squeezes hers back and says, “Once she died, I was daggered for about 120 years, and when I woke up I had no interest in anything that might remind me of my loss, so I barely even opened the book until the second time I woke up, never mind looked at the spell.  However, when I met you, well, honestly, I knew early on that I wanted you forever, so I started working on finishing the spell.  I struggled with it for a while, but my Christmas gift from you had all Chalina's notes on the spell in it, so that helped me work out the last little bits of it, so I finished it a few days ago.  If your mother hadn't been here last night, I would have shown it to you first, but I really did want to take advantage of her being here to physically read the spell straight from the book so she could read the notes in the margins and the explanations as to why I chose to do things each way." 

He gestures towards the book and says, "Now sit and read it over a few times, and make sure you're really ready to do it.  I prefer to do it before we leave Mystic Falls, but if you're not ready to do it before that, then I'll wait as long as you need me to.  I'll be annoyingly overprotective so as not to repeat history, but I'll wait until you're sure you're ready, okay?  This spell will make us one, but you should feel no pressure.  You're in charge of what happens here as well as when it happens."

She nods and sits in his chair when he motions towards his seat before he slides the book closer to her and she reads it.  Five times.  After the fifth time, she gets up and begins pacing in front of his desk. 

They'll both have to drink each other's blood from the vein.  She stops and stands still thinking, _'Um, okay, I can do this.  It's Kol.  It's not Damon tearing into my throat because he's pissed at me for destroying what he thought was the only way to save Katherine.'_

Kol wraps his arms around her from behind and rests his chin on her shoulder before asking, "Little Bella, your heart is hammering in your chest, your body is stiff, your breathing is quick and labored, and you're trembling.  If I didn't know better, I'd say you're frightened.  Talk to me.  What's going on inside that pretty little head of yours because I can't address it if you don't tell me what it is, and the last thing I want is for you ever to fear me."

She swallows thickly, but tells him, "It's not you I'm scared of.  I promise."

He squeezes his arms around her gently and asks, "But you _are_ scared?"

Since she knows that a threat to her, past _or_ present is the only thing at this point that might induce Kol to break their truce she gulps and sends up a silent little prayer, _'Please don't let him go hunt down Damon after I explain.'_

Turning her head slightly, she tells him, "Um, we have to bite each other for this spell."

He nods with his chin still resting on my baby girl's shoulder before he asks, "What exactly about that is scaring you, Little Bella?"

Frowning, she brings her arms up to hold onto his arms holding her, more for moral support than to keep him in place, and then she tells him, "Well, the only time I've ever been bitten, it, well, it hurt, and it was, up to that point, the scariest event in my whole life."

His arms tighten around her just a little before he asks, "Who bit you, and what were the circumstances that led to you being bitten?"

With a deepening frown she asks, "Um, do you promise you won't seek vengeance?"

She can hear the frown in his voice when he says, "That means it's someone who still exists, someone we know, someone you consider a friend."

She nods at that, so he asks, "Which Salvatore?  Is this why you are so leery of Stefan?"

Her eyes widen, and she turns her face to look at him before asking him, "Wait, what about Stefan?"

Kol squeezes her again and tells her, "I've noticed you get very tense whenever his name is brought up, and Beks has mentioned that she's noticed the same thing whenever you see him, or he enters a room you're in.  I was just wondering if he attacked you, and that's why he makes you so nervous."

Frowning deeper my granddaughter says, "Oh um, you promise you won't—"

He sighs and in a soft reassuring voice interrupts her, "Bonnie have I attacked your friends even once since we made our deal?"

She shakes her head to answer that no he has not done anything of the sort.  Nodding his head against her shoulder he then continues, "I need you to have a little faith in me that I'm not going to go slaughter all of your friends.  As far as I know, I haven't done anything to indicate that I will, even when they deserved a good beating, so I need you to trust me, can you do that?"

She stops and really thinks about it, and then she gasps, _'God, I really do trust him, completely and unequivocally,'_ so she tells him, "I'm sorry that wasn't fair to you and was mostly a conditioned response and not an indication of my level of trust in you.  You're right.  You haven't done anything to lead me to believe you're a threat to my friends.  I'm sorry."

He turns his love to face him and cups her cheeks in his big hands before telling her, "I know old habits die hard, Bonnie, and that for most of the time that you've known about vampires you haven't trusted any of us.  I believe you said you didn't trust us farther than you could throw us.  I get that changing that belief takes time and patience not to mention my actually earning that trust, so I'm not angry."

She nods then she shows him just how much she trusts him by telling him, "Damon came back to town in the Fall of 2009 planning to use the Comet flying overhead to break into this tomb that had vampires trapped inside it since September 1864.  He thought Katherine was one of them, and he loved her, so he wanted to rescue her.  It was the whole reason he existed up to that point.  Anyway, he thought this crystal that belonged to Emily was the way into the tomb.  I wound up in possession of it, and Emily possessed me and used me and my magick to destroy the crystal.  When Emily left me, the circle protecting me dropped, and Damon pounced on me and tore into my throat.  Stefan pulled him off me and fed me his blood to heal me, and then Elena took me home and told me about vampires and how they're real." 

She pauses then adds, "I knew beforehand that Damon wasn't human, but I hadn't put two and two together yet, so up to that point I didn't actually know that you guys were real.  Anyway, it hurt, a lot, and it was, like I said, the scariest thing that had happened to me at that point in my life."

His hands reach up, and he uses his thumbs to brush her tears away prompting her to wonder, _'Wait, tears?  I'm crying?'_  

The memories of that night obviously still disturb and upset her, so it's no surprise when he frowns at her tears.  Looking at her with sad eyes for a minute he then tells her, "No wonder you hated vampires so much.  Thank you for trusting me with that story.  I won't betray the trust you've given me by attacking Damon, even if he would deserve it."

She sighs deeply before he kisses her forehead and then pulls away, so he can look her in the eyes, and still holding her cheeks in his huge hands, he tells her, "There are several types of bites.  The first is the kind Damon gave you.  It's done in anger, and it's violent in its very nature.  The kind The Linking Spell requires, however, is gentle and loving.  If I do it correctly, and I've had more than 600 years to perfect my bite, you won't feel much more than a pinch as my fangs slide in.  And after that, it should feel wonderful." 

He smiles then it dims a bit before he asks, "Are you at all worried that I'll drain you?  To be honest, I have no intention of taking any more than necessary, so I'll only take a few mouthfuls."

Quickly shaking her head, my grandbaby tells him, "N-no, I know you care for me and wouldn't kill me.  I also trust that you won't turn me."

He leans down and kisses her gently before pulling back and saying, "Thank you for that Bonnie, your certainty that you are safe with me humbles me, and you are correct, of course, because the whole point of this spell is to prevent you from being able to die." 

He pauses and then asks, "What can I do to make it less frightening for you?"

Frowning and looking down at their feet, she tells him, "I'm not sure there _is_ anything you can do except us just doing it and me seeing that you can bite me without it hurting.  Um if we ever have… um, well Elena said that once Stefan began having little sips of her to regulate his ripper-ness that he liked to um, well… while they were, um…"

He gently laughs at her innocence and inability to say the word sex.  He kisses her lips quickly and then tips her chin up so he can look in her eyes again, "It's true.  Vampires often bite during intercourse, but if we do this spell and you decide you never want me to bite you again, then I'll honor that request.  I am hopeful, though, that you'll enjoy it and not object to me biting you when we do become intimate because blood sharing is an integral part of vampire mating practices."

She giggles and thinks, _'God, he's so cute when he gets so formal in his speech.'_

He looks at her with a raised eyebrow and quirked lips, so she explains the giggle, "It's just you're so cute when you speak so formally.  The morning after we made our deal I thought that you sometimes sound like you're straight out of a historical romance novel.  Your 'old world-ness' is part of your appeal.  Like how you helped me sit at the coffee shop that first day.  Anyway, that's why I giggled because you were very formal in your speech so um…"

He smiles at her, so she knows he's not angry about anything she just said, but he tells her, "We're quite the pair, aren't we?  You like my 'old world-ness,' as you put it, and I like your modernity.  You don't wait around for the man to come and save you, and although I'm perfectly capable of saving you, and will anytime I can, you're also perfectly capable of protecting yourself and your loved ones in most cases.  You're intelligent, capable, quick thinking, and willing to fight if necessary.  Throughout history, women deferred to men much more than they do today, and I like the fact that you're, I believe the phrase is, 'an independent woman.'"

My baby girl smiles and nods so he continues, "I like that about you.  And sometimes you say the funniest things when you use modern slang and colloquialisms."

Laughing at that, she tells him, "I guess we _are_ quite the pair and quite perfect for each other because few others would fit the bill for either of us."

He nods so she looks back towards the book and tells him, "I want to do the spell now."

Pulling away from her a little to look her in the eye he asks, "Are you sure, Bonnie, I meant it when I said I'll wait for as long as necessary.  Remember there is no going back once the spell is performed so be very sure."

Smiling she tells him, "I'm sure, in fact, I don't think I've ever been more sure of anything in my whole short life."

He smiles back, leans in, and kisses my baby girl before pulling away and going to his herb cabinet.  He begins taking things off the shelves and setting them on his work table.

She watches him pour things into the copper bowl and then mix them.  He uses some spring water out of a bottle to make the herbs drinkable and then stirs it 27 times clockwise.

When he finishes doing that, he picks up the bowl in one hand and takes her other hand and leads her into his bedroom.  He walks them to his bed and then says, "Climb up, Little Bella, this is another instance of us possibly dropping after the incantation is said and the blood is shared so best to already be lying on a soft surface."

She giggles and kicks off her shoes before climbing onto his big bed.  Before she can joke about him wanting her in his bed again, he climbs on after her and drinks half the potion, and then he hands the bowl to her, so she drinks the rest of it. 

Fortunately for them, it doesn't taste too bad.  After she hands the now empty bowl back to him, she lays back as he puts it on the bedside table and then he says the first half of the words that will bind them for all time before he leans in and kisses her softly.  They kiss slow and soft for several long minutes before he trails his kisses down over her chin to her neck.  She tenses before he whispers, "Relax, Little Bella, nothing but pleasure, okay?"

She nods and then feels a slight pinch before she's cumming harder than she ever has.  He takes a few sips then he reaches over to the bedside table and after opening the drawer with one hand, he grabs something. 

She soon realizes it's a dagger when he slashes his throat and tells her, "Drink, Little Bella."

Looking at the wound oozing blood for a minute she screws up her nerve before leaning up and wrapping her lips around the curve of his neck.  She sucks taking three big swallows before Kol whispers the last half of the words, “I will cherish our union and love you more every day than I did the day before.  I will trust you and respect you, laugh with you and cry with you, loving you faithfully through moments of joy and celebration as well as through trials and tribulations, regardless of the obstacles we may face together.  I give you my hand, my heart, and my love, from this day forward for as long as we both exist.”

Her gaze meets his before she nods and repeats the vow before adding, “In Jesus’ name, Amen.”  As soon as the last word crosses her lips her eyes drift shut, and stars burst behind her closed eyelids as pleasure races over her nerve endings while she cums hard again, and then neither of them knows anything.

**______________________________________________________________________________**

When Kol comes to, he's laying half on top of Bonnie who is still unconscious.  He rolls over, taking her with him so that now she's laying on top of him.  The citrus and woodsy flowery scent of her cum is thick in the air, and he wants to rub himself all over her, but he wisely holds back the urge and just holds her in his arms until she wakes.

While he lays there, he contemplates what just happened, _'She said yes to coming to New Orleans, and she not only agreed to do the spell, but she actually did it with me already.'_  

He doesn't have words for how incredibly pleased and happy both things make him.  His muscles are relaxed, and his mind is at ease in ways they haven't been in an awfully long time as if he was just waiting for her to come into his world and then bind herself to him for all of eternity. 

It was all he could do last night, not to go visit her at her house and beg her to say yes.  She told him she was pretty sure she would say yes, but once she left their home and he woke up sitting in his chair and then sent Rebekah to her room, he had time alone to contemplate the events of the day, and he started second guessing everything.  He had a tough time falling back to sleep last night which is why he slept so late this morning, but now all his worries were for naught because she said yes. 

The plan he put into motion just over six weeks ago is finally complete.  Bonnie Bennett is his for the rest of eternity.  He's hers too, even though he doesn't think she's fully realized that part yet, but like I said all those weeks ago, the important part to him is that she's his and he'll never let her go. 

Now that they did The Linking Spell he'll never need to let her go either.  He'll never have to watch as some enemy tortures and kills her to get at him or his siblings.  She's as safe as he can make her.  _'She's safe.'_

A moment later, she begins to stir, and when her eyes flutter open, he's slammed with her emotions flowing into him over the link.  He thinks in awed wonder, _'Um Wow, she really does love me, no question about that.'_

He can feel her physical responses as if they are his own, and there is a tightening in her chest, and her ears, neck, and face all feel hot, so he knows she's also embarrassed, and she's shaking all over and experiencing waves of cold washing over her body, so he correctly surmises that she's overwhelmed too. 

The embarrassment is because she came twice, and Kol and I are both sure if she's ever cum before it was by her own hand with no one else present.  Her being overwhelmed though is likely due to her feeling _his_ emotions.

When her eyes focus on his face, she says, "You-you're relieved and you… you really do love me, like a Forever Love."

He smiles and nods before telling her, "I wouldn't have suggested this spell if I didn't, Little Bella."  He pauses then tells her words he's only ever said to his siblings, "Always and Forever, Bonnie."

My baby girl smiles a beaming smile and tells him, "Me too, Kol, I'll love you, Always and Forever."

Smiling he tells her, "Well, I hope so because you're stuck with me now."

She giggles and then surprises him by wiggling up his body a little until her mouth can reach his.  A moment later she leans down and kisses him, soft and sweet.

His hands come up to her back and hold her tightly, though he's mindful not to squeeze her too tightly.  Even if he can't kill her anymore, he doesn't wish to cause her pain, so he works extra hard at being as gentle as he can manage.

He decides to let his lady love lead, so he just kisses her with closed lips until her tongue traces the seam of his lips, and he lets out a sigh allowing her to slip her tongue into his mouth. 

He thinks, _'My mate may be young and inexperienced, but she's an excellent kisser.'_

As their tongues tangle her hands travel over his bare chest and abdominal muscles, sliding over the grooves of each muscle and sending little sparks shooting through his body with every gentle touch.

He gasps when her fingers gently grasp his nipple and twist ever so slightly, so he pulls his lips away from hers and tells her, "Harder, Little Bella."

She pulls away and looks at him with wide eyes and then seems to realize what she was doing and with quickly reddening cheeks she pulls her hand away from his chest.

Grabbing her hand, Kol lays it flat over his heart with his hand on top of hers, and while the scent of her blush fills his senses she buries her face in the crook of his neck, so he tells her, "There's no need to be embarrassed, Little Bella.  The spell we just did made us one in God's eyes, and while I fully intend to eventually make vows with you in front of God and everybody that doesn't change that so far as God is concerned, we are one _now."_

At his words, she snuggles deeper into him so smiling slightly he continues, "For the record, I was enjoying your ministrations, and as I said you're stuck with me now, so private things between us are just that: between us.  You never need to be embarrassed with me.  I guarantee there isn't a single thing you could possibly want to do to me _or_ want _me_ to do to _you_ that I would laugh at.  And the only things I would object to are things that would hurt _you_ beyond the realm of any pleasurable pain.  So, I want you to do what you're comfortable with, but don't hide from me."

My heavily blushing granddaughter whispers into his throat, "You have a lot of experience."

Nodding he tangles his hand in her hair to use it as leverage to get her to look at him.  When her eyes focus on his, he tells her, "I do have a lot of experience, though, all of it predates April 1702 after Chalina died, but think of it this way, there probably isn't anything I haven't tried before.  Therefore, I'll know if I like something or not, and I'll tell you if you try to do something I don't like, though, I honestly can't think of what that might be.  Think of it as a blessing because I've had a lot of practice, so I'll be able to make you feel amazing without any fumbling."

She frowns while she looks into his eyes and then looks away before she mumbles, "What if I'm no good?"

He smiles and turns her head a bit so she's looking into his eyes again before he tells her, "On the very off chance that that is true then it's a good thing I know what I'm doing and can teach you, but to be honest I highly doubt you won't be any good.  Bonnie, men and women have been intimate for millennia, far longer than I've existed that's for sure, and in all my long years walking this earth I've never met a woman who was terrible.  She might have been inexperienced like you are but that's not necessarily a terrible thing, in fact, I'm quite pleased you haven't done more than kissing or over the clothes groping with anyone.  That means I don't have to go kill anyone for knowing you that way, which is especially fortuitous because I'm rather fond of your ex-boyfriend."

She giggles at his mention of his fondness of Jeremy.  He smiles at her gently and nods before he says, "The point is: I can teach you what I like as we both learn what _you_ like.  Your inexperience isn't a terrible thing Bonnie, and it's temporary at that."

I let out a little breath because he handled that very well.  I worried at first that he'd push too hard and too fast now that they're linked but my worries were very obviously misplaced.

My baby girl nods so he flips them over and then leans down and kisses her.  He slowly brings his hand up to her stomach and caresses her over her blouse while he kisses her senseless. 

Still moving slowly, to give her a chance to object, he slides his hand down to her hip and then back up under her blouse.  She stiffens but he just rubs his tongue along hers, and she gets right back into the kiss. 

He just leaves his hand resting on her bare stomach with his fingers brushing back and forth while he kisses her until she hesitantly takes her trembling hand and wraps it around his wrist before moving his hand up closer to her chest. 

Smiling, he pulls back and looks at her.  She turns several shades of crimson so grinning, he leans down close to her ear and tells her, "That's it, Little Bella.  I won't know when you're ready for me to move forward unless you tell me."

She nods so he moves his hand higher until it cups her breast.  She’s still trembling, and she freezes again, but instead of pulling back he freezes, too, giving her the opportunity to grow accustomed to his hand being there.

Going back to kissing her he waits a minute then he gently squeezes her breast before guessing where her nipple is and rubbing his thumb over it, smiling when it becomes a little pebble.

She's moaning while he rubs against her breast.  I'm contemplating leaving them to it, but I want to make sure he doesn't pressure her into doing anything she's not ready for.  So, I stay and frown when he takes his thumb and index finger and grips her little nipple through the lace of her bra and twists just slightly causing her to gasp and say, "God, Kol, please."

He smiles against her lips and pulls back asking, "What do you want, Little Bella?"

My insecure grandbaby looks at him, and we can both clearly see her fear of disappointing her mate.  Thankfully, he’s intuitive so nips that in the bud and tells her, "Don't do that Bonnie, I asked what _you_ want, not what _I_ want because right now _I_ only want what _you_ want.  You will never disappoint me in bed, okay?  You might wind me up and then stop us causing me to have to go take a very cold shower, but I'm willing to live with that and go at your pace.  Remember what I said earlier?  We go as fast or as slow as _you_ want, and we stop when _you_ want to stop.  If you don't want to go any farther right now tell me.  I promise I won't become angry."

Still trembling, she frowns and averts her eyes before she tells him, "I'm sorry now I'm making you repeat yourself."

He smiles gently and brushes some hair away from her eyes before he tells her, "It's okay, you're nervous and experiencing new things, so it's understandable.  Plus, if I'm doing things correctly, it should be very difficult for you to think straight."

She giggles but then sits up and pulls her top up and off before laying back down.

She has her green-eyes screwed shut tight as though she's a little child waiting for a scolding and is too scared to look at her parent.  The fact of the matter is, now that they've done that linking spell they're essentially married so she shouldn't worry that he's going to think less of her or criticize her for behaving that way. 

He strokes her cheek and tells her, "Look at me, Bonnie."

With slightly red cheeks, she opens one eye a crack and peeks at him, so being uncharacteristically patient he smiles and then leans down and kisses her causing her other eye to open while her hands come up to his back and begin tracing patterns on his skin, which he thinks is nice.

Stroking his fingers along the smooth skin of her stomach he brings his hand back to her bra and palms the lace covered globe before once again using his thumb to stroke her nipple.

Bonnie’s hips are undulating while she brings a hand to his chest and tweaks his nipple.  He does the same to her nipple, and then he switches breasts and squeezes and rubs the other one, so it doesn't feel left out.

She relaxes ever so slightly and opens her eyes and looks at him.  He’s smiling even when she pulls away and says, "If I do something, can I do it, and then we stop?"

He’s super relaxed and content, so he nods and tells her, "At your pace, Little Bella."

Sitting up again, she ignores her own trembling and then reaches behind herself, and both mine and Kol's eyes widen when we realize what she's planning to do. 

A moment later her bra loosens, and she slowly pulls it away from her chest before she begins looking everywhere but at her mate, so Kol smiles appreciatively and tells her, "Look at me, Bonnie." 

When she looks at him he tells her as honestly as he can, "You're beautiful, Little Bella, actually, that's not a strong enough word, you're actually absolutely stunning.  Now, I know you want to stop, so I propose we lay like this for a little while, and then we can put our shirts back on."

She bites her lip while she looks at him seriously and then asks, "You don't mind?"

Smiling down at her, he proves that I truly can trust him with my precious girl when he reaches up and strokes her blushing cheek before saying, "No, I don't mind.  I'm actually looking forward to feeling your skin on mine." 

He finishes by laying her back against the pillows and then rolling them so that she's on top of him again, which has an unintended consequence of her coming into contact with his hardness through his jeans. 

She freezes again, but then she wiggles a little, so he laughs and tells her, "Don't be a tease, Little Bella.  You said we're stopping so…"

She blushes but says, "Sorry, it's just, well, I've never, um, well…"

Smiling, he asks, "That's the first time you've felt a man's penis?"

Burying her face in his neck again, she nods. 

Kol just laughs and tells her, "Well if I'm lucky it won't be the last time."

She giggles while he looks over at the bedside table to see that between losing consciousness and their playing, a handful of hours have passed, and it's now 12:30 p.m.

Kol strokes his hand over her hair and bare back before asking, "Do you have plans today, Little Bella?"

While she’s slightly tense laying against him, she nods and says, "I'm planning to visit each of my friends this afternoon and tell them that I'm moving with you.  I texted them all except Caroline this morning before I picked Beks up for school.  I'll be seeing Damon at 1:45, then Tyler at 2:30, and Matt at 3:15 because it's his day off, so I don't have to compete with his work schedule.”

She shifts slightly and blushes even more when she feels him through his jeans again.  She doesn’t comment on it though and instead says, “Then when I'm done with Matt I'll be meeting Stefan for coffee.  Once that's done I'll be stopping by the Gilbert's house to tell Elena, though, I haven't warned her that I'm coming because last night on the ride home Jer suggested I don't give his sister advance notice.”

He nods so she reaches up and pecks his lips before saying, “I'll be calling Caroline when I'm done with Elena, and I'll probably go over to her house and fill her in."

He smiles before he gently squeezes her and asks, "What prompted that order?"

Smiling into his chest, she’s slowly relaxing so she snuggles in closer to him, drawing designs on his chest with her fingers just above his heart and tells him, "Except for Caroline, who is last to keep her from blabbing before I talk to everyone, they're in order of least nerve-wracking to most.  If I wasn't worried Caroline would be too excited and would tell everyone I'd have told her first, but this way is better so I won't get angry with her for causing unnecessary tension by having a big mouth."

He chuckles and tells my grandbaby, "Caroline is well-intentioned, but I agree that she gets excited and tells things she shouldn't to people she shouldn't.  I think that's about the only major character flaw she has from what I've seen, and I can honestly say that other than that one thing I completely understand what my brother sees in her.  I actually think they're an incredibly good match, to be honest."

She giggles and then tells him honestly, "She's also neurotic and doesn't have the greatest self-esteem though I've noticed that's less of an issue since she became a vampire.  In fact, other than the fact that she killed someone before she knew what was happening to her when she first turned I'd say becoming a vampire has been good for her."

He chuckles, too, "That's the first time I think I've ever heard _that_ said."

Nodding, she tells him, "I can imagine, but it's true.  She's grown into herself a lot since she transitioned, and it's a good look on her.  I also know she has surprisingly good control over the bloodlust because I've been hurt a few times since she transitioned.  Several of the wounds were a bloody mess, and she didn't even get vein-ey eyed never mind showing her fangs even though she helped me tend to each wound.  Out of all the vampires I know besides you and your family she's the one I trust the most not to hurt someone by accident, or on purpose for that matter.  Anyway, that's helped by the fact that she didn’t have an angry bone in her body before the change, so her rage is almost nonexistent."

Kol smiles and admits, "Young Caroline is incredibly lucky then.  Most new vampires don't take anywhere near the three or so centuries it took me to be able to be near an open wound without going berserk.  It’s still unheard of for a vampire under two years old to be well controlled enough to help tend to bloody wounds without their veins _and_ fangs showing even a little.  Her self-control and likely her willpower not to be violent despite what she became are likely among the strongest I've ever encountered."

He pauses and then concedes, "Well, actually, Elijah might beat her in his desire and ability to control himself despite his surroundings, but it's a near thing."

My baby girl smiles back and asks, "She really is lucky.  Would you mind if I tell her what you said about her only being behind Elijah in her self-control?  I know she really admires him and his restraint.  I think she actually actively tries to emulate him as though he's the vampire she wants to be most like when it comes to that sort of thing.  So, she'd be pleased as punch to hear that you of all people compared her level of control to your brother's control."

He smiles wider and nods telling her, "There are certainly worse people she could try to emulate, so feel free to tell her what I said because I really do think that her age is the only thing keeping her from actually being tied with Elijah.  By the time she reaches his current age my guess is _her_ control will far surpass _his_ because she's so close to him now at less than two years old, and he's had over a thousand years to perfect his control.  Little known fact: Even Elijah took a few decades to be able to control himself so well around blood.  He never would have been able to help you dress bloody wounds in the second year of his vampire existence, so she's truly remarkable, and I think she needs to know that, so feel free to tell her what I said.  Or if you like I can talk to her and tell her myself."

Smiling widely, she tells him, "I'll tell her, but feel free to reiterate the message if you want to."

He laughs and nods before she frowns a little and asks, "Uh can I tell her that you keep a list of the names of your victims?  She has a list of all six of her victims in the back of her journal, and she reads it every day before she leaves her house to remind herself that she needs to be in control.  Although honestly, to my knowledge only one of them was a result of her losing control.  The others were when she was protecting people.  Two deputies when Mason Lockwood told her mom that Damon and Stefan are vampires and then I think there were three werewolves that she killed protecting everybody.  Anyway, I think she'll take comfort in the knowledge that you keep a list too and do your best to remember each of your victims to honor them."

He strokes her back again and nods before telling her, "Of course, Little Bella.  I was serious all those weeks ago when I told you nothing I had told you is a secret.  In fact, feel free to assume nothing I have or will tell you is intended to be a secret unless I specifically tell you it's only to be between us."

She nods and says, "Okay, if you're sure.  I almost told her about Eija the other day, but I wasn't sure if you'd like that."

He smiles at her obviously pleased by her consideration and trustworthiness.  He squeezes her gently and says, "I don't mind you telling _her or Jer_ about Eija, but I'd rather the Salvatores know as little about me as possible if you can manage it."

She nods against his chest and says, "I figured that much.  I don't even want them knowing stuff about _me,_ so I certainly wouldn't go telling them anything important about you or the rest of your family."

He realizes that this may very well be his opportunity to solve one mystery, so he frowns and asks her, "Will you tell me why you don't like Stefan so much?" 

He squeezes her and drops a kiss to the top of her head when she grows tense at the mention of the younger vampire's name before he continues by telling her, "Even my just saying his name a moment ago has your muscles all tense and your breathing picked up a bit, too.  Did he hurt you?"

She lifts her head, and although she's frowning at him he smiles reassuringly before she leans up and kisses him briefly then she pulls back and says, "Remember I told you about the tomb full of vampires?"

He nods so she nods back and continues, "Well, my grams died because she overexerted herself helping me take down the spell keeping them locked in.  The only reason we had to take it down was that Stefan ran in there after his brother and Elena wouldn't let us leave him there.  But that's not why I don't like him because despite being an only child I get that the bonds of family are the most important things in the world, so I'm not really mad about that.  I still regret that I wasn't strong enough to do it on my own, but I've stopped blaming Stefan for Grams' death.  However, the Tomb Vamps escaped, and they kidnapped Stefan.  Elena, Damon, and Ric went and rescued him, but he was tortured and so severely injured and weakened that it became necessary for Elena to feed him her own blood to make him strong enough to protect them both.”

She leans her cheek against his shoulder again and squeezes her arm around him before saying, “After that, it was like he was addicted to human blood, which now that I know he's a ripper is pretty accurate.  Anyhow, the reason I don't like him is that instead of admitting to Elena and Damon that he was struggling, he tried to handle it on his own and he nearly killed this girl Amber at the Miss Mystic Falls Pageant.  And then he just ran off after dropping her when we interrupted him in the process of draining her.  He acts like he's so righteous, but really he's just as bad or heck even worse than Damon.”

She lifts her head and looks him in the eye before saying, “I'll be honest, I don't like Damon.  The things he did to my best friend when he first showed up in town are unforgivable.  The only reason I'm even willing to consider forgiving him and sort of being his friend is that we all know he behaved that way because his switch was off.  It was still him who raped and abused my bestie, but he's since apologized to her and Care says she believes he was genuine, so I'm working on forgiving him, too.  However, even without forgiving him I would much prefer Damon over his brother because Damon at least can be around human blood and not go nuts.  Stefan gets a whiff of it, and he goes off the rails, and everyone forgives him for it because 'hey it's Stefan and he's not evil like his brother.'" 

Pausing with a frown on her face she then tells him something she's never admitted to anyone before, "Really I think most people have the brothers backward because although Damon has killed thousands of people, he did it because he turned his switch off.  I heard Stefan and Damon talking once, and Stefan told Damon that other than right at the start of being a vampire he never turned his emotions off.  He turned them back on pretty quickly because apparently the kill is more fun with emotions, or so he said, and then has left them on entirely, except for when Nik compelled him to turn them off.  That means at least 99% of Stefan's victims were killed by him while his switch was still on.”

She shrugs and says, “He's sort of like you only _he_ tortured his victims and enjoyed the kills whereas I get the sense that the people you killed were because you lost control momentarily.  Take the tavern in Spain after Chalina died, correct me if I'm wrong, but you snapped because of your anger and grief and killed them all in a matter of minutes.  Did you torture any of them?"

He shakes his head, so my precious girl nods and continues, "I didn't think so.  You snapped and killed them meanwhile he hunted and tortured millions of people for the 'fun' of it."

His chestnut eyes widen at that, and she knows he thinks she's overestimating the number of people the younger vampire has killed.  Stefan's only been a vampire for about 145 years so one would assume that he couldn't have killed that many more people than Kol has in just over 600 years.  She's not over exaggerating though so she shrugs and tells him, "Anyway I did a little research, and he's a true monster any way you look at him, and everyone just buys into his 'poor me, I'm so tortured by my past sins' routine.  Well, I know the truth, so I don't buy his act and mark my words that's all it is: An act he puts on to keep Elena and others from casting him in the same light that they cast Damon in.  Really if I had to choose between the two brothers, I'd pick Damon, and that was true even before my premonition when I realized Damon loves Elena more than he loves himself.  In that vision, Stefan went back out to hunt without you influencing him, and I think that's who he truly is: A predator in sheep's clothing who's got everyone else around him fooled into believing he's harmless.  He's anything but harmless, and I will never trust him or turn my back to him."

When she looks up at Kol's face, his eyes are wide, and his mouth is hanging open a little.  He obviously knew that Stefan is a sanctimonious ass and holier-than-thou towards everyone, but if you believe Finn, and I'm inclined to accept every word he says to me, then Kol doesn't know the half of it when it comes to who and what Stefan really is. 

He doesn't doubt Bonnie's estimation of Stefan though, which he shows her by saying, "If your instincts tell you not to show any weakness then don't.  Like I told you that first day in the Salvatore's basement, your instincts are strong.  I don't think they'll lead you astray."

She nods and then snuggles further into him, so they just lay there enjoying each other's company until it's time for her to get up and put her clothes back on.

Forty minutes later she's practically asleep while he rubs her back before he tells her, "Time to get up, Little Bella.  You don't want to keep Damon waiting."

Giggling, she smiles and tells a grinning Kol, "No, I don't because he's another guy in my life that doesn't do well with boredom."

Kol chuckles while he reaches over beside them and picks up her hot pink lace bra handing it to her.  She blushes again and then sits up, and without looking at him, she quickly puts it back on.  Then she picks up her pink and purple top and slips it on over her head before leaning down and kissing him.

"I'll come back when I'm done with Caroline, okay?"

He nods, so she pecks him on the lips one last time before saying, "Love you," and then he watches while she gets off the bed, grabs her purse from beside the chair in the corner, goes into his bathroom to tame her hair with the brush she takes out of her bag and then she quietly leaves the room.


	19. Why Are You More Deserving

**______________________________________________________________________________**

**Chapter 019**

**Why Are You More Deserving?**

**______________________________________________________________________________**

**Thursday, January 20, 2011, 1:15 p.m.**

**Kol's Bedroom**

**______________________________________________________________________________**

Kol basks in the fact that my grandbaby just said she loves him thinking, _'I am a lucky bastard that I have managed to earn her trust and love.  I don't know what good thing I did to deserve her, but I'm bloody lucky I did whatever it was because my life would not be anywhere near as fulfilling or satisfying without her spreading her love and joy all over my small little slice of the world.'_  

She reminds him of a mixture of his two previous loves.  She has the sweetness, manners, and innocence of his Eija and the quick wit, backbone, willingness to fight, and self-confidence, well, self-confidence in everything except love, that Chalina had. 

Chalina never doubted his feelings for her, and he knows that's why it's taken Bonnie so long to admit she has feelings for him.  She was worried he only saw her as a right now kind of girl and not a forever kind of girl.  He thinks, _‘It's fortuitous that I finally finished The Linking Spell and was able to show it to her because I know for a fact that her new confidence in me is because she finally realized I want her forever and not just for right now.’_  

If she had said no to coming to New Orleans, he would have taken her aside and actually given her the reassurance she needed to know he loves her.  He wanted her to come to the realization herself without him saying the words first, though, because the words have more meaning when the feelings are already established as being there through actions.  If he told her he loves her, but she hadn't figured out that he felt that way on her own she would have needed to take him at his word, and he doesn't think they're quite to the point yet where her trust in him is unflinching and unquestionable.  That's not to say they're not quickly getting there, but that sort of thing takes time and patience. 

Now, while he's not particularly well known for his patience, Bonnie is worth every second he's needed to wait for her to come to the realization that she is his world and that he will never hurt her or intentionally break her trust. 

He's very mindful not to betray her fledgling trust in him.  He knows that alone can break them even before they really start. 

That's not to say doing so is particularly difficult.  It's not difficult at all.  Bonnie just inspires those around her to automatically return her loyalty, honor, consideration, and love. 

Think about it, even Niklaus has mellowed with his backstabbing since my granddaughter came into the Mikaelson's lives, his trying to dagger Elijah notwithstanding. 

It's not surprising, to Kol at least, that his tendency to anger quickly and allow his jealousy to cause him to lash out has all but vanished.  He's confident in Bonnie's feelings for him, so he's not threatened by her relationships with anyone else, not even Jeremy, so he hasn't gotten jealous.

Oh, he gets envious when Bonnie spends so much of her free time with Rebekah, but he hasn't found himself getting jealous and then angry about it.  Instead, he usually goes and joins them in whatever they're doing.

When the sounds of his mate leaving the house and then driving away reach him in his room, he gets up at vampire speed and finishes dressing before heading downstairs, quickly drinking a pint of blood, and then he hurries out the door to go eavesdrop on Bonnie’s conversations with her friends.

Despite her leaving before him, he still gets to the Salvatore's house before she does, so he heads to the garden and leans against a tree that shouldn't be visible from inside the house.

When she arrives, she lets herself in and then sits and waits for Damon to come downstairs.  Kol moves so he can see into the room, but anyone looking out the window won't see him. 

Bonnie fidgets and plays with the locket he gave her for Christmas while he watches her through the window. 

She stops playing with her necklace a moment later and looks up when Damon enters the room.  He sits down across from her and looks at her expectantly, so she tells him, "Damon, I, uh, have something I need to talk to you about."

He sighs and asks, "What did I do now?"

Frowning, she sits forward on the couch and tells him, "To my knowledge, nothing.  Why did you do something?"

Frowning back at her, Damon shakes his head and says, "No, but usually everyone assumes it was me who did whatever they don't like that happened."

Nodding, she tells him, "You're right, and I know I have been a huge part of that trend to assume the worst of you, and for what it's worth, I'm sorry.  Once you turned your switch back on, I haven't been entirely fair when it comes to you.  Every time Stefan apologizes for something he did everyone is quick to forgive him.  You recently apologized to Caroline for your horrible treatment of her, and she said she believes you really meant it and we all still treat you like a pariah."

That's one of the things Kol loves most about Bonnie.  When she figures out her beliefs are incorrect, or she makes a mistake, she doesn't cling to the old belief or continue with the action.  Instead, she not only admits she was wrong, but she also apologizes as soon as she can.

Damon obviously wasn't expecting an apology today, though, so his eyes are wide when he asks, "Why the sudden change in heart?"

Kol smiles when his witch shrugs and says, "Because the premonition I had about Kol showed me that you love my best friend more than you even love yourself.  You searched high and low for 144 years for a hunter to help him activate his mark.  You were tireless in your search to end Elena's curse, and no matter how difficult things got, you never gave up on your search or Elena.  Then you gave the ultimate sacrifice and killed her to spare her the pain of burning up in the sun because you knew there would be no stopping her from killing herself.  You made sure she wasn't scared or in pain and made sure that she knew that you loved and cherished her, and then you killed her in her sleep, so she would die peacefully.”

She leans forward slightly and says, “Incidentally, if Kol had died that night, Elena would have been the only one out of all of us that would have had a peaceful death and her peace at the end was entirely because of you and your selfless love for her."

She pauses but then shrugs slightly with that smile still on her face while she says, "I'm sure you've done a lot, I mean a lot, of bad things in your 146 some odd years as a vampire.  I'm sure most, if not all of it, was while your switch was firmly in the off position.  Now that your switch is on you've done nothing that I'm aware of that I would classify even as questionable behavior never mind evil.  You even apologized to Caroline, Jer and me without being prompted to for the bad behavior you subjected us to when you first arrived.”

She folds her hands in her lap and says, “I know beyond a shadow of a doubt that above all else you love Elena like no other.  You make sacrifices for her day in and day out, and I don't think any of us really acknowledge the role you've had in keeping her _and_ the rest of us alive for better or for worse."

Kol grins when she shrugs again and with a sheepish smile on her face now says, "Plus, I seem to have become more understanding of the bad things an honestly repentant vampire might have done in his past."

Damon sighs, "This is about Kol.  You're in love with him, aren't you?"

Kol smiles to himself when Bonnie, who holds his heart in the palm of his hand, nods and tells Damon, "Sort of, I think so, yeah."

Frowning, Damon tells her, "Either you are, or you aren't.  There is no in between, Bonnie."

Huffing, she says, "Fine, then yes I'm in love with Kol Mikaelson, but before you go giving me a lecture on all the horrible things he's ever done remember that Elena loves you, and you've probably done the same things he has.  The only difference between the two of you is that he's had longer to do those bad things."

Kol smiles at her words.  She loves him and more importantly she does so even knowing he's done bad things in his past.  Her capacity to forgive and give second chances blows his mind constantly.  I mean Niklaus killed Jenna, not to mention Elena herself, and yet Bonnie gave him a chance to prove himself to her. 

She had no way of knowing the hybrid wouldn't throw that opportunity back in her face, but she gave it to him all the same.  A lesser woman would not have bothered giving him another chance.  Oh, they might have let him continue living, but they wouldn't have offered him their friendship. 

She also gave Kol a chance to prove himself after witnessing the evil he's capable of in her premonition.  After seeing what she saw, he's incredibly surprised that she was so open to giving him the opportunity to earn her friendship. 

He can't think of anyone else he's ever known who would have realized that the premonition never happened and that it was only what _could_ have happened not what actually happened.  Still, even knowing that under different circumstances he would have killed everyone she loves, she gave him a chance to be her friend, which blows his mind.  It's just one more thing that makes him love my granddaughter with all his heart.

Damon nods and tells her, "I know.  So, is that what you wanted to talk to me about, the fact that you're in love with an original?"

Shaking her head, she tells him, "No, not really.  I need you to promise not to tell anyone what I'm about to tell you until after they come to you with the knowledge.  I decided to do this in order of how nerve-wracking telling the person is and because, all due respect, your opinion on my personal life matters the least to me you're first."

Kol grins at that while Damon just nods and tells her, "I won't tell anyone until they tell me."

Smiling she says, "Thank you," then she pauses while he just nods before she tells him, "Um so you know I love him, and, well, his family is moving to New Orleans to take care of some business matters there and well, um, heaskedmeifIdgowithhimandIsaidyes."

Kol forcibly holds in his laughter lest they both hear him.  Damon chuckles quite loudly, though, and says, "One more time, Bonnie, with a little air in between each word."

She giggles and says, "Sorry, so he asked me if I'd, well, if I'd go with them, and well, I, um, sort of said yes."

He grins and asks, "You sort of said yes, or you did say yes, because again there is no in between, either you did, or you didn't."

She giggles again and tells him, "I definitely said yes."

He looks at her hard for a second before his gaze softens and he tells her, "That's better.  When you tell everyone else, own it.  You love this man, and you're moving thousands of miles away to be with him, so give him and your relationship the respect it's owed and be proud and happy for yourself."

He pauses then he rubs the back of his neck before telling her, "I know we haven't always seen eye to eye, and honestly that's really my fault because I did try to kill you when I first arrived and I'm the one who turned your mom.  I've told you recently, but I'll repeat it, I'm sorry about both of those things.  Anyway, you're one of the most levelheaded, loyal, and compassionate people I've ever met.  You're a good friend, and don't think I don't realize that you knowingly and willingly gave up your lifelong friendship with Elena to save _all_ of us.”

He shifts in his seat and shrugs, “If Kol Mikaelson makes you happy, and he better or original or not I'll beat him until he does, but if he's who makes you happy then who am I to judge?  As you pointed out, he and I have done the exact same things.  He's just been around longer, so he's done more of it than I have.  If I get to have Elena love me, then it makes sense that he should get to have an amazing woman love him, too."

Kol doesn't know how wonderful or amazing Elena really is.  He thinks she’s not very much of either, but he agrees with the sentiment none the less.

Damon stops then frowns and asks, "He treats you right doesn't he?"

My grandbaby nods and says, "He treats me like I'm a princess most of the time and the most precious thing in the world to him."

He nods and says, "Good, then, in that case, best of luck and I hope you keep in touch."

Her hazel eyes widen, and Kol understands why when a moment later she asks, "Uh, Damon, you feel okay?"

He nods while his eyes narrow and he asks, "Yeah, why?"

She smiles and just says, "Because I guess I expected you to freak out and yell and then storm out of the room or maybe throw a tumbler full of scotch at the wall, and you haven't done any of that."

He chuckles and tells her, "Well, I can't be too predictable, now can I?  I've got to keep you all guessing as much as possible."

Giggling Bonnie then stands and says, "Thank you, Damon, not just for today, but for loving my best friend the way you do.  She may not love me anymore, but I still love her, and I worry about her, but I know with you by her side I can worry a little less."

His eyes widen at that, but he nods before she then walks over to him and leans down kissing his cheek telling him, "Keep my number handy and if you guys need magick, provided it's not dark magick, I'll be happy to come and visit and help you guys out."

He nods, so she smiles and then shows herself out.

Kol smiles.  That went much better than he anticipated.  He's known for a while now that despite Damon's penchant for sarcasm he genuinely cares for Bonnie.  He respects her, too, probably more than any of her other friends, so Kol supposes he shouldn't be too surprised that went so well.  Plus, he did compel him to be reluctantly supportive, but he's beginning to realize he might not have needed to force Damon to be supportive like he initially thought he did. 

Either way, that went well, so Kol and I both let out a little breath. 

Because she already told Kol the order she plans to tell everyone in, he heads to the Lockwood Estate.

Kol arrives at the Lockwood's large house a few minutes before my granddaughter does, so he finds a place on the terrace outside the living room and gets comfortable.

When Bonnie arrives, she knocks, and Tyler lets her into the house before showing her to the living room and sitting down across from her on one of the couches.  This pain in Niklaus' ass is the one out of all of her friends that Kol is most nervous about Bonnie speaking with because although the originals have compelled him and the others not to physically harm Bonnie, he’s still a loose cannon. 

Elijah simply reinstated his younger brother's compulsions, and when Kol compelled him, he compelled him to be reluctantly supportive enough so that he left it so that Tyler can be incredibly reluctant.  That means he may very well become incredibly angry before he calms and becomes supportive. 

Kol knows Tyler’s angry words have the potential to cut Bonnie deeply.  Although Kol knows Elena will react worse and her words will cut even deeper, he thinks Tyler’s unadulterated hatred of the Mikaelson family will make his words more forceful, which will upset Bonnie. 

Tyler ties with Elena as the most likely to wish Kol dead to my grandbaby's face, so, Kol’s muscles are tight, and he's pacing while he listens to them.

The two teens sit there not saying anything for a minute, just staring at each other before Tyler chuckles and asks, "You said you had something important to tell me, so what is it?"

She smiles ever so slightly and then says, "I need you not to tell anyone what I'm about to say until they come to you because I'm telling each of you one at a time, and I need you not to get angry and go tell everyone.  Can you do that?"

Tyler nods and shifts in his seat so that his elbows are resting on his knees while he leans towards Bonnie, "This is about your friendships with The Originals, isn't it?"

She nods back and says, "Yes, I know that you hate Klaus and with good reason after what he did to your mom and you, but the rest of them aren't like that."

Tyler surprises Kol and me both by telling her, "I know, despite breaking up with Caroline last week we're still pretty much guy-girl best friends, and we talk a couple of times a day and most nights before we head to bed.  She's told me about Christmas and New Years as well as movie night last night.  She said Kol and Rebekah were funny and nice and that they never did or said anything to make her suspicious of them or their intentions towards you.”

He sighs and says, “She also pointed out that she thinks they genuinely care about you and that _you_ are the only reason any of them have kept to the truce you and Kol worked out.  Honestly, I can understand because you're the only reason _I've_ kept to the truce because I want nothing more than to find a way to separate Klaus from his sire-line and then rip his heart from his chest.  I knew it would upset you, though, and that it would put all of us in even more danger.  Because none of the Mikaelsons, including Klaus, have made any suspicious moves since you made your deal with Kol, well, I figure peace and the rest of my loved ones' safety is more important than revenge.   I also figure based on what Caroline refused to talk about that you have feelings for Kol."

Bonnie smiles and tells him, "I do, and that's actually part of why I'm here right now.  I don't know if you know or not but Nik, err, Klaus left town.  He's in New Orleans dealing with some things, and it looks like the rest of the Mikaelsons are going to follow him there, and they're all going to stay there indefinitely.  They um, they asked me if I'd go with them, and I said yes."

Kol tenses when Tyler’s eyes flash gold, but he thankfully remains perfectly still before he says in a lowered voice, "You're moving to New Orleans with them?"

My grandbaby cautiously nods so Tyler nods back and says, "I don't trust Klaus and the fact that you're familiar enough with him that you're calling him 'Nik' pisses me off and worries me all at the same time, but I also know he's not why you're going."

She smiles softly and tells him, "You're right, I'm going because I'm in love with Kol, and I want to be with him no matter what for all time."

Tyler’s muddy brown eyes widen before he asks, "Are you considering him turning you?"

She shakes her head, "No, I _am_ considering a linking spell, though, that would link us and make me live as long as he does.  That way I wouldn't lose my magick, and I wouldn't have to feed on people or drink blood at all."

Kol smiles, pleased that she only said that she's _considering_ it because it's a significant advantage to them that no one outside his family and her mother and Jeremy know about it, and even Abby and Jeremy don't know the pair did the spell yet.

Tyler nods slowly and then tells my baby girl, "Well, I know you well enough to know I'm not going to talk you out of this.  Besides, if they didn't care about you Kol probably wouldn't have bothered writing that spell for you to do to return Jer's arms to him, so I guess the best I can do is tell you to stay safe, and whatever you do don't trust Klaus.  He's not a nice guy even if his brother and sister might be.  And well, if you ever need help taking Klaus down, you know how to find me."

Bonnie nods back and then tells him, "I'm telling Caroline last so that she doesn't get a chance to blab to anyone, so it'll be much later tonight when she calls to talk to you about it, okay?"

He grins and nods again, and then he stands, "Okay.  Well, take care, Bonnie."

She stands and then follows him to the door.  When she gets there the sound of rustling fabric tells us that she's hugging him, then the door opens.  My ever-intelligent granddaughter pauses and asks, "You still drinking Vervain every day, Tyler?"

I imagine he’s nodding while he tells her, "Every morning and with every cup of coffee I drink throughout the day."

I can hear the smile in my baby girl's voice when she says, "Oh, okay, good." and she walks to her car and gets in before driving off to talk to Matt.

Matt is much of the same and just as reluctantly supportive as everyone else was, and Kol finds himself hoping Bonnie doesn't question too closely why none of them are reacting badly.  It hadn't occurred to him when he compelled them all to be reluctantly supportive that she'd meet that reluctant support from each of them all in the same afternoon.  He knows she finds it all a little suspicious because she asked Matt about taking Vervain, too. 

My precious girl is double checking that Kol didn't compel her friends into compliance.  He did, but she won't know that because he also compelled most of them to believe that they are still drinking Vervain every day. 

While Bonnie knows some of her friends are Vervain free, such as Damon, his brother, and Elena, my grandbaby hasn't realized that when the original said he may have compelled her friends, he meant all of them, not just the ones he deemed most likely to cause issues.

When Bonnie finishes with Matt, Kol and I follow her to The Coffee Shop and hide a few alleyways down across the street, so Kol can hear _and_ see her conversation with Stefan. 

Bonnie’s evident distrust of Stefan makes Kol distrust him even more because Bonnie has impeccable instincts when it comes to that sort of thing.  Even before their conversation earlier, he knew that there must be a good reason that she's so very leery of Stefan. 

Kol may not have initially known why my baby girl dislikes him so much, but Kol knows Bonnie’s choice of venue for this conversation speaks volumes about her level of comfort when it comes to the younger vampire. 

I mean Damon tore into her throat intending to kill her, and she willingly and happily met _him_ in the privacy of his home where if he had reacted violently no one would have known she was in danger. 

His brother, though, who saved her from Damon, him she's meeting in a busy and public setting so that he'll be less likely to make a scene or attack her.

Bonnie enters the shop, and Kol and I hear my granddaughter say hello to Lisa and order her usual Iced Mocha.  Then she comes back outside with her drink in hand and sits down at one of the little bistro tables and waits. 

I can hear Stefan’s thoughts a mile away while he wonders why my grandbaby wants to speak with him privately?  _'Maybe she wants my advice on convincing Elena to take her back?  That must be it because Bonnie and I have never been particularly close.  She doesn't like me, and I honestly don't like her.'_  

She’s too perceptive for his tastes, and if she knows as much about him as he thinks she does, he knows my baby girl could turn all their friends against him with a few well-placed words, or, well, she could have before she befriended the Mikaelsons.  Now he thinks that their friends are really _his_ friends and she's left out in the cold, which honestly would suit him fine if she wasn't so powerful. 

He thinks he and her former friends need her magick and they definitely need her not to use her magick on the Mikaelsons' behalf.

Stefan knows Caroline can feel the power rolling off Bonnie in massive waves, but he correctly thinks she doesn't realize how rare that is. 

Stefan has met a decent number of witches in his 146 years as a vampire, and he's never met one with as much power as Bonnie Bennett, not even Emily had that much power, and she was previously the most powerful witch he had ever come across.

Above all, Stefan thinks they need my precious girl on their side, or the Mikaelsons will be even more unstoppable than they already are, so he hurries down the street towards The Coffee Shop where he's supposed to be meeting Bonnie in… he looks at his watch.  _'Damn, I was supposed to be there two minutes ago.'_

He looks around, and after determining that there are very few humans on the street, he picks up his pace so that he's moving at vampire speed, or his equivalent of it anyway.  His diet drastically limits his abilities.  He's still stronger and faster than humans, but any vampire who drinks from humans instead of animals is, much to his chagrin, infinitely stronger than he is. 

The self-imposed weakness rankles something fierce.  However, the benefits of being a known animal drinker in a town full of vampire haters slightly outweigh his need for as much power and strength as he can get his hands on.

When the Coffee Shop comes into view, he spots Bonnie sitting outside while she drinks her Iced Mocha.  It's mid-January so he was expecting they'd sit inside but if she wants to freeze while they talk, then he's certainly not going to stop her.

He slows down, and his eyes widen when he realizes that my grandbaby was looking right at him even though his movements should have been too fast for her human eyes to see.  He thinks, _'Hmm, I'll have to think on that later and exactly what it means.'_  

Walking to the table at a human pace, he smiles his go to 'I'm your friend, and I care' smile and tells her, "I'm just going to get a coffee, and then I'll be right out."

She nods and continues sipping her drink while he goes inside before returning with his own coffee a few minutes later.  He sits and then after taking a sip of his drink he asks, "So Bonnie, what's so important that you needed to speak to me away from Elena or anyone else?   Have you finally come to your senses?  I know she said not to come to her when you realized the Mikaelsons are evil, but I don't think she really meant it.  You're her best friend, Bonnie, she'll take you back."

Bonnie shakes her head causing her brunette hair to move around her shoulders and then says, "Um, I haven't come to my senses as you put it.  I just wanted to tell you that I'm moving to New Orleans next week.  I plan to tell Elena next, and I figure she'll need someone to talk with about it after I leave."

His eyes are wide, and he wonders, _'She's moving to New Orleans?  Elena never mentioned Bonnie having any relatives there, and it's the middle of her senior year.  What could possibly be so important that she's moving to a city where so far as I know she knows no one and might end up having to repeat her senior year?'_  

Frowning, he tries the slightly indirect approach to get his answers, "What's in New Orleans?"

My precious girl smiles innocuously and says with a straight face, "The French Quarter."

Stefan tenses at her flippant response that she’s obviously using to avoid answering the question and through gritted teeth asks the _'annoying witch we need on our side at all costs,'_ "I know that, but what's causing you to move there, halfway through your senior year no less."

Frowning, she takes a deep breath, releases it slowly through her nose and then takes another shallower breath before telling him, "The Mikaelsons are also moving to New Orleans.  I'm going with them."

Stefan mentally screams, _'She's what?'_  

He proves just how unstable he is when he slams his hand on the table leaving a small dent in the shape of his fist and making her jump before he takes several deep breaths through his nose and releases them each slowly. 

He’s fully aware of the fact that Bonnie could kill him in a millisecond and not think twice about it if he attacks her, especially given his diet of choice. 

After a few more calming breaths he asks, "Are you out of your mind, Bonnie?  They're trying to lure you away from your friends where you're safe."

She shakes her head in the negative and tells him, "No they're not."

Stefan's vampire senses might be drastically dulled compared to Damon and Caroline's senses, never mind the Mikaelsons', but even he can tell that she wholeheartedly believes that statement.  Her heart rate, breathing, and temperature remained constant while she spoke and her pupils didn't change size either so she definitely wholeheartedly trusts that The Original Family isn't trying to lure her away from her friends where she is much safer. 

Not that he really cares whether she's safe other than in terms of their ability to use her magick against their enemies.

Stefan knows he can't tell her that though, so he tries a different tact, "They only want you for your magick, Bonnie.  I know you think that they can get anyone to do magick for them, but you don't realize just how powerful you are.  The power rolls off you in waves, and honestly, it's overpowering and a little unsettling just how powerful you are."

She shakes her head again and frowns before telling him, "Their own magick is even stronger than mine because it's over a thousand years old, so they don't need me to do magick for them.  They can do it themselves."

He wonders, _'Wait, what?  Their own magick?'_   Damon told them all about the conversation that Kol and Bonnie had the morning Kol removed his compulsion from Damon, so Stefan knows that the Mikaelsons used to be witches.  _'Becoming vampires should have removed their ability to access their magick though, so unless she did something incredibly stupid, they should have no magick of their own.  Please don't let her have done what I think she did!'_  

His eyes are wide, though, and his muscles are tense when he asks in a low, dangerous voice, "What do you mean their own magick?  What have you done, Bonnie?"

She shakes her head once again and ignoring his scowl, tells him, "I didn't do anything.  They did the same ritual I did to return my magick to me, and it had the same result for them that it did for me.  They don't need me for anything.  They want me around because they genuinely care about me."

_'Shit, she did give them back their magick.  Okay, there is nothing I can do about that now,'_ so he skips over the fact that they have their magick back and instead he shakes his head back at her and focuses on sowing seeds of doubt in her mind by telling her, "You're deluding yourself if you really believe that."

He looks at her while she just stares at him and then his eyes widen when something that he thinks should have occurred to him six weeks ago becomes glaringly obvious.  _'Kol must have used his good looks and the charm having existed for over a thousand years has afforded him and seduced her.'_  

He already knows the answer, but he still asks her, "You're in love with him, aren't you?"

My brave baby girl holds her head high and nods while she tells him, "Yes, and he loves me back."

He thinks, _'Dammit, why didn't we realize he wasn't just approaching her as a fellow witch who had no access to his magick but also as a man who is attracted to her?  Now there is no hope.  If we go to war with them, Bonnie will undoubtedly side with the Mikaelsons against her childhood friends.'_  

He still tries to sow seeds of doubt, though, so he tells her, "He doesn't know how to love, Bonnie." 

He admits to himself, _'Okay so that's a flat out lie because if I can love, then he probably can too, but I highly doubt he has actual feelings for_ her _.  She's just a child and far too useful for a savvy vampire to pass up the opportunity of gaining her allegiance any way possible.  He's smart I'll give him that.  She believes he loves her.  Dammit, we are totally screwed at this point because she will happily betray the people she's known her whole life to protect the man she thinks is in love with her, the man_ she's _in love with.'_

Bonnie frowns and asks him, "Did you love Elena?"

Scowling harder with narrowed eyes he tells her, "It's not the same," then he thinks, _'And yeah so it could be if she wasn't so damn useful.  There is no way he actually cares for her, though.  He'd definitely be more likely to fall for a worldly and far older female vampire, not some mortal witch who's never left Virginia and isn't even twenty years old yet, never mind that she is possibly the strongest witch born in the last couple of thousand years.'_

Shaking her head, Bonnie asks, "Why isn't it?  What makes you more deserving of love and forgiveness for the monstrous things you've perpetrated against the world?" 

She pauses, but when he doesn't make a move to answer her, she tells him, "You know I looked up The Ripper of Monterrey."

His eyes widen at that, and his muscles stiffen even more before she tells him, "You killed more than 36,000 people in a little over a year.  By doing so, you wiped out whole family lines and an entire village.  And I checked, you didn't spare the kids either.  You tortured them just like you tortured their parents, and then you killed them all."

His mind shouts, _'Shit if ever there was an inconvenient time to have a notorious reputation, now is it.  Still, I wasn't wrong that her old friends likely won't give her words much weight if she does choose to share whatever she may know about me.'_  

Bonnie pauses to let the fact that she knows the true scope of his crimes sink in before she tells him, "At least Kol is honest about the monster he's been.  You, on the other hand, walk around pretending to be this tame, housebroken beast that can do no wrong." 

Smiling a not nice smile to rival the one he's seen each of the Mikaelsons wear at one point or another, Bonnie tells him, "I spoke to Nik about you too."

He thinks, _'There she goes calling him Nik again.  I'm honestly surprised that he lets Bonnie get away with calling him that.  The Nik I knew back in the twenties wouldn't have put up with a lowly mortal acting so familiar with him, even if she is a powerful witch.'_

He focuses back on her words before she says, "And if he's to be believed, and I'm inclined to believe every word he said on the subject of you and your ripper days, you treated at least 15 other villages to the same treatment Monterrey got."

It dawns on Stefan that Niklaus is likely playing the same game Kol is just without the romantic angle.  He figures that's got to be why the hybrid allows Bonnie to call him Nik. 

He also thinks his former 'brother' told her everything he knows about Stefan's ripper days to win her to their side.  _'If she doesn't trust me and her friends do then she's likely to have arguments with them which would allow the Mikaelsons to swoop in and play the concerned, caring friends.  Still, Klaus knows everything I did before my meeting him, and hell even while we spent time together in Chicago, I didn't hide my exploits because I never thought twice about boasting to him about my murderous activities.'_  

Stefan brings his thoughts back to what Bonnie’s saying and not on his past when she says, "And before you try to deny it, I checked his facts.  The towns he named existed, and then everyone was slaughtered using your MO, and then the towns didn't exist anymore.  I added up the estimated death tolls for each town…  by my best estimate and rounding _down_ to give you the benefit of the doubt, you killed more than 576,000 people in seven years." 

His green eyes are wide when she lets _that_ sink in.  Although those seven years were among the best in terms of his having as much fun as he wanted with as many victims as he could find, he thinks his death toll was honestly more like twice or triple what she thinks it was.

My grandbaby frowns before she tells him, "I asked Beks to give me an estimate of how many people Kol has killed.  Do you know what she said?"

Stefan derisively thinks, _'She honestly probably said whatever she thought would keep Kol on Bonnie's good side.'_

Bonnie smirks again and tells him, "She said he's probably killed about 200,000 people.  When posed with the same question Kol told me it was probably along the lines of a little more than 333,000, so by his best guess in a thousand years he's probably killed about 243,000 fewer people than you did in _seven years_."

Stefan sincerely doubts either number is accurate because he's heard stories of the Mikaelsons' 'Happy Homicidal Maniac' through the years.  According to Stefan's sources Kol slaughtered hundreds daily for centuries.  He's the stuff of legend and one of the vampires he tried to emulate in his early years. 

Stefan shakes his head at the fact that Bonnie obviously believes the much older vampire when she says, "He's been alive a little less than seven times as long as you have.  Even though I'm only counting the bodies you accumulated in the seven years I looked into, you still managed to kill 243,000 more people than he has in his whole 1,009 years as a vampire.  I'm sure they weren't your only victims through the years either and that your death toll is actually probably more like at least four or five times as much as the 576,000 from that seven-year stretch.”

She leans forward and says, “In 146 years, Stefan, you have probably killed more than two million people, probably a lot more."

He frowns and thinks, _'Okay, she's got me there, and it's actually probably closer to four or five million, especially if you take the wars into account.'_  

He had a bit of 'fun' during those years over in Europe and the war going on around him was the perfect cover for his bloodshed.  Lexi thought he was keeping to animals during that time, but he just couldn't resist all that free-flowing blood for very long.

Taking a sip of her Mocha my grandbaby just sits there for a minute.  Then she asks, "So given that you've killed probably at least two million more people than he has despite his advanced years and he didn't torture them, I might add, tell me, Stefan, what makes you more deserving of my forgiveness.  You don't even seem sorry for the deaths you've caused, not really anyhow, so why should I forgive you and not him."

Once again smiling that not nice smile she picked up from Kol and his family, she continues her thought, "Oh, I know you talk the talk and make it sound like you're sorry, but I don't buy it."

He frowns and tells her, "I doubt Kol means it either."  He means that too.  He believes Kol is a cold-blooded killer just like he is and despite what I know to be the truth, Kol is famous for reveling in the deaths he caused, so Stefan doubts any Mikaelson has any real remorse over any of the murders they've committed through the years. 

He thinks that Kol's pretend remorse only exists to lure the unsuspecting Bonnie into believing he's a good guy.

Her hazel eyes widen when he doesn't argue her point and practically acknowledges that she's right that he feels zero remorse about any of his crimes, but she says, "He seems much more contrite and honestly apologetic for his crimes, far more than you ever have been."

Stefan, being a conniving psychopath, sees an opportunity, so he latches onto it and tells her, "You said it yourself Bonnie, he's been alive almost seven times as long as I have, so of course, he's a better liar than I am."

Despite her usual inclination towards sympathy, she frowns and then leans forward and tells the unsympathetic vampire, "Here's the difference though, he said he's sorry, and I believe him.  You don't even bother apologizing."

Stefan once again thinks derisively, _'Well, of course, I don't bother apologizing.  I'm not sorry, and although he did apologize, I know he only did it to win brownie points.  If I thought apologizing would win Elena back from my brother I'd tell that lie, too.'_

My grandbaby stands with her drink in her hand and tells him, "Anyway, I just wanted to tell you to your face that I'm moving to New Orleans with the Mikaelsons because I figure I owe you at least that much because you did save my life that one time."

Then without waiting for a response, she turns and walks away.  He watches while she stops at the trash can, guzzles the last few sips of her drink, and then throws out her empty cup before she walks to her car and gets in. 

She sits there taking deep breaths for a minute while she visibly shakes.  Stefan thinks my granddaughter isn't as aloof as she wanted him to believe.  He smiles his version of a not nice smile when he realizes that she was frightened of speaking with him.  Given the information, he now knows she has on him, no wonder she was afraid.  If that fact didn't completely ruin his chances of keeping her from defecting to the Mikaelson's side, he'd be pleased that she's so frightened of him.  She should be.

When she pulls away the scheming vampire takes out his phone and calls the one person he thinks might still be able to keep Bonnie from switching sides and joining their enemies.


	20. Does a Pint of Chunky Monkey Count

**______________________________________________________________________________**

**Chapter 020**

**Does a Pint of Chunky Monkey Count?**

**______________________________________________________________________________**

**Thursday, January 20, 2011, 4:40 p.m.**

**The Gilbert's House**

**______________________________________________________________________________**

Kol and I arrive at the Gilbert's house a few minutes before Bonnie does so he hides in a neighbor's yard across the street so he can see the front door.  He plans to move closer to Elena's house once the two girls go inside.

Even from where he's standing Kol can hear Elena on the phone.  I see in his mind that the bratty girl is not happy and when I realize who she's talking to I sigh.  This is not going to go how my granddaughter had hoped. 

When my baby girl arrives, she takes a deep breath and then gets out of her car.  She never thought she'd see the day that she'd have a rolling stomach and a sour taste in her mouth walking up to this door and knocking on it, but she has both right now.  Still, she walks up the steps and knocks. 

A moment later the door wrenches open, and a heavily breathing Elena glares at her before asking, "What do you want?  Oh wait, let me guess, you were stupid enough to fall in love with Kol, and now you're being even more stupid and moving to New Orleans with him."

Bonnie’s eyes narrow and her fists clench ever so slightly while she thinks, _'Dammit, I should have figured Stefan would call and warn her.'_  

Bonnie takes another deep breath and asks Elena, "Can I come in?"

Elena plants her feet, clearly blocking the doorway and says, "Why bother?  You don't have anything to say that I want to hear, and honestly, I don't really care at this point.  If you want to be my friend you have to give him up, but he's obviously got you wrapped around his little finger, so I'm sure there is no way you'd give him up."

My grandbaby huffs and asks, "Elena, what is your damage?  Do you even hear yourself talking or realize what a hypocrite you're being?  Stefan's killed way more people than Kol ever has, and before you argue the point, Stefan practically admitted it to me when I saw him earlier.  Plus, now you're in love with Damon, and he openly admits he's killed tons of people.  We're talking tens of thousands of people, at least.  So why do you get to be happy with a homicidal maniac and I don't?"

Elena huffs back and glares before she says, "It's not the same.  They've stopped hurting people."

Bonnie nods and tells her, "So has Kol."

Shaking her head, the doppelgänger says with some force and indignation, "You have no way of knowing that!"

Bonnie nods again and speaking slowly as if she's talking to a child, she tells Elena, "I know the same way you know Stefan and Damon have stopped being evil."

Elena rolls her eyes and says, "Whatever, look if you want to be my friend fine, but you can't be with him too, so you have to choose him or me."

Mine and my baby girl's eyes both widen.  She’s serious.  She wants my granddaughter to choose between her childhood best friend and the man she loves?  Well, even if Bonnie wanted to pick her, which for the record she doesn't, she did The Linking Spell, so there's no way she can ever give up Kol. 

_'Besides,'_ Bonnie thinks, _'I promised Kol 'Always and Forever,' and I meant it with all of my heart.'_

She shakes her head and asks, "Please, Elena, don't do this."

Elena frowns and tells her now former friend, "That's what I thought, you're choosing him over our friendship.  Well, you've made your choice.  Now you have to live with it.  Goodbye Bonnie," and then the ungrateful brat slams the door in my grandbaby's tear stained face.

Bonnie just stands there for a minute staring at the closed door and bawling before she wipes at her eyes which are pouring tears down her cheeks and walks to her car.

Beside me, Kol takes a step forward towards Bonnie and then steps back.  He does that a few times clearly torn over going to her and comforting her and not letting her know that he's been eavesdropping all afternoon. 

I clearly hear in his thoughts that he plans to tell her anyway, but he thinks doing it in front of Elena's house might make matters worse, not better, so he holds his position.  Though, I can also clearly hear in his thoughts that if she keeps crying like that he's going to her no matter what and damn the consequences because every sob she lets out breaks his heart a little more.

After getting into her Prius, Bonnie just sits there and cries for the friendship she's now officially lost.  She wonders, _'How could she be so heartless?  How could she be so close minded?  Stefan, as I pointed out earlier, has killed hundreds of thousands, if not more than two million more people than Kol ever did, and he had a much shorter time to do it in, and she has no problem being friends with him.  And Damon openly admits he wasn't a nice guy before Elena.  He even admits he killed a ton of people before he met and fell in love with her.  He also repeatedly raped and abused our other best friend, and, yeah, he apologized, and Caroline has sort of forgiven him, but still, he was a bad, bad man.  So why is it okay for Elena to love a killer, two of them even, and I'm not allowed to.  She has found happiness with the man she loves despite his previous sins so why can't I forgive Kol like she's forgiven Damon?'_

Kol lets out a relieved sigh just before Bonnie jumps when there's a knock on her window.  She cautiously looks up to find Caroline staring down at her with a frown on her face. 

The blonde asks through the window, "Bonnie, are you okay?"  She pauses, and then says to herself, "She's crying in her car in front of Elena's house, of course, she isn't okay!"

Caroline can’t stand Bonnie’s tears any more than Kol can, so she opens the car door and pulls Bonnie out before she wraps her arms around her friend and tells her, "Whatever Elena did or said, she's not worth your tears, Bonnie.  She hasn't deserved you in a long time."

Still sobbing, Bonnie thinks, _'Um, Wow.'_  

Caroline pulls back before Bonnie can say anything and sticks out her hand, "Give me your keys, Bon.  I'll drive you wherever you're going, and then I'll run back here and pick up my car."

My granddaughter, stubborn girl that she is, shakes her head, and Caroline frowns and says, "You're too upset to drive, and if I have to call Klaus to get Kol's number and then call him and have him come and get you, I will, but you are _not_ driving anywhere in the condition you're in.  I won't let my best friend kill herself because she tried to drive and cry at the same time."

Bonnie laughs and tells her, "You're a good friend, Caroline Forbes."

She smiles widely and says, "Thank you, now keys!" and she waves her hand back and forth with her palm up expectantly waiting for Bonnie to drop them into her palm.

Still laughing, my grandbaby places the keys in Caroline’s hand before she walks Bonnie to the other side of her car and opens the door for her.  After she's sat down, the blonde closes the door and then goes around and gets in.

Caroline puts the keys in the console, grabs the box of tissues from the back seat, then turns and hands them to Bonnie, who is still crying. 

Caroline looks at my grandbaby before she asks, "So where are we going?"

Bonnie frowns and after she uses a tissue to dab at her eyes she asks, "Can we go to my house?  I still need to tell you my news."

The blonde nods while she turns back to face forward and says, "Sure, but I don't have an invite into your house."

Bonnie nods and tells her friend, "Caroline Forbes, would you please come into my house?"

Caroline’s ocean blue eyes are wide while she slowly turns to look at her and says, "Bonnie, what did you just do?"

Smiling my precious girl tells her honestly, "I invited my best friend, who has never made any move to harm a single hair on my head, into my house."

A tear slips out of Caroline’s eye, and Bonnie smiles wider and tells her, "Hey, please don't cry, or we'll be stranded here outside Elena's house."

Caroline laughs and says, "Okay, but I reserve the right to cry when we get to your house," before putting on her seatbelt, pushing the on button, and driving the little Prius towards my granddaughter's house.

They don't talk on the drive, and when they arrive at the house, both of their tears have dried up.  Bonnie leads Caroline up the front porch and inside to her bedroom, and sure enough, when she crosses the threshold of the house, a tear slips out of Caroline’s eye.

The two longtime friends walk up the stairs towards Bonnie's room.  When they enter it, Caroline drops her purse on the chair in the corner of Bonnie’s room before she turns to look at her and asks her, "Do you want to talk about Elena first and leave the happy news to last?  That way we’ll have something to look forward to."

Bonnie shakes her head, "Elena's story won't make any sense without my news."

Caroline sits on the bed and pulls her friend onto it beside her and tells her, "Okay, then tell me your news, and then we can go raid your freezer for some ice cream, and you can tell me all about how Elena is being a bitch again."

Bonnie laughs despite herself and asks her, "Do you know that Nik is in New Orleans?"

Caroline nods and says, "Yes, he invited me to join him, which is tempting in a way it really shouldn't be, but I don't think I could leave you and Jer behind, so it's just not feasible right now.  I might go visit in the Summer after we graduate though."

Bonnie smiles and then tells her, "Well the rest of the Mikaelson's are joining him now, and they asked me to go with them, and, well, I said yes."

Caroline grabs her hands tightly while she squeals, "Really?  Wait are you going to be with Kol or just because you're friends with all of them?"

My granddaughter chuckles at her excitement and tells her, "Both actually."

Caroline nods and says, "I can tell that all of the Mikaelsons, but especially Kol and Rebekah, care for you deeply.  Especially after spending the holidays with them and then watching them interact with you last night.  Plus, I know the only reason Kol would have written that spell to help Jer is that it would make you happy."

Bonnie nods but tells the other girl, "Little known fact:  Kol actually likes Jer and probably would have looked for a way to give him back his arms even without me being in the equation."

Caroline smiles and asks, "So have you two kissed yet?"

My grandbaby giggles and tells her, "Um yes, last night.  Actually, he kissed me twice before Jer showed up, too, when he found out that the daggers don't… um…"

Oops, she wasn't planning on telling her loose-lipped friend that, but Caroline looks at her and asks, "When he found out the daggers don't what?"

My baby girl thinks, _'Oh well, in for a penny, in for a pound,'_ then she says, "The daggers don't work anymore.  Nik tried to dagger Elijah, and it didn't work."

Caroline's blue eyes are wide when she asks, "Um, wow, okay, do they know why it didn't work?"

Bonnie nods and then begins babbling nervously, "Well, you know the Mikaelsons were witches before they were turned.  That the day at the beach, it wasn't just Kol there with me, it was all of the Mikaelsons.  And we all did the ritual to return the balance to each of us, so now they have their magick back too.  Which you know because you saw Kol and Rebekah do magick last night.  Anyway, the reason I'm telling you all this stuff you already know is that we're pretty sure that because them having their magick back is the only thing that's changed that that's why the dagger didn't work."

Caroline nods slowly and says, "And Kol kissed you because you essentially are the reason they now have their magick back and therefore can't be daggered anymore?"

Blushing, Bonnie shrugs and says, "I know you and Jer seemed cool about it last night, but please don't be mad.  When I suggested they try the ritual, I figured returning the balance to them would level them out and make them less likely to kill or wreak havoc, so that's why I suggested it, and now it turns out I wound up taking away the only way to stop an original."

Bonnie looks at her friend seriously and tells her, "It was implied last night, but you can't tell the others."

Caroline nods and Bonnie tells her, "I mean it, Caroline, they will freak and probably try to do something stupid if they find out, and they will only end up getting themselves killed."

She nods deeper and says, "I know.  I was serious when I said I wouldn't tell any of them.  I want them all to be safe more than I want to gossip, so don't worry.  I won't tell a soul."

My baby girl nods and squeezes Caroline’s hands that are still clutching her own, "I believe you," and she really does.

Caroline grins back and says, "So he kissed you last night when he found out about the daggers and… I get the sense he kissed you again after that?"

My granddaughter giggles like the teenage girl she really is and tells her, "Well, actually _I_ kissed _him_ the second time."

Caroline’s eyes are wide, and she smiles before saying, "Oh, Go Bonnie!  So, tell me everything."

Still smiling, Bonnie tells her, "After Jer got his arms back I hugged Kol and thanked him, and when I pulled away I just leaned in and kissed him."

Caroline smiles gently and says, "So sweet, so have you kissed him today?"

Even though my precious girl's skin tone is much darker than Caroline's the fact that she's turning eight shades of red at the question is incredibly obvious.  Caroline squeals again and grabbing her friend's hands in hers once more she tells her, "Ah, you're blushing that means you did more than kiss, spill Bonnie…"

My granddaughter giggles again and taking a leap of faith that her usually gossipy friend will keep everything to herself she tells her eager friend about her morning including The Linking Spell.  When she finishes her tale, she looks Caroline deep in the eyes and tells her, "You can't tell anyone, Caroline."

Caroline, for her part, just smiles and in that 'I'm being compelled' flat voice says, "I can't tell anyone."

Bonnie's eyes widen in alarm, and she thinks, _'Um, did I just compel her?'_  

She frowns and tells her, "Um, don't get mad at me, but I think I just compelled you."

Caroline nods and says, "I think you did too.  Do it again.  Only this time tell me that I can't and won't tell anyone your or the Mikaelson's secrets ever again without prior permission."

My eyes are wide while Bonnie frowns and asks, "Are you sure?"

Caroline smiles and says, "Yes, I was going to ask Klaus to do it, but I wasn't sure I could trust him not to take advantage, so this way I won't be able to blab your secrets anymore, and I don't have to worry about what else he might compel me to do.  I mean I wish I could keep your secrets on my own, but I can admit I suck at secret keeping, and I hate blabbing and making you mad at me, but I just can't help it.  The words just pop out before I even know what I'm saying, so I want you to compel me not to blab because although it'd be nice for me to do it on my own, it's better that it be compelled than I blab everything and make trouble for you and the Mikaelsons."

Bonnie nods and says, "Okay, but I'm not sure how I did it."

Caroline smiles again and tells her, "Look deep into my eyes and focus on my mind.  When you connect you'll feel my mind pull yours a little towards mine.  That's how you know you've made the connection.  Then you tell me what to do or not do, and then you release the connection."

Bonnie thinks, _'Um okay, that sounds easy enough,'_ so she looks into her friend's eyes and does what she told her to, _'And whoa I really do feel her mind pulling me towards her.  That's kind of cool.'_   She smiles widely and says, "Unless you get our prior permission you will never tell anyone any of mine or the Mikaelsons' secrets or anything you know about the Mikaelsons and me that you think we might deem classified and don't want you telling other people."

Caroline repeats what she just told her and then Bonnie struggles to relax her hold on her mind before it slips away, and Caroline smiles and says, "Perfect, I could feel it working."

Bonnie nods so Caroline stands and tells my grandbaby, who means the world to her, "Let's get some Ben and Jerry's and we can gossip about how good kissers the Mikaelsons are."

My granddaughter's eyes widen at that when Caroline leaves the room and Bonnie hurries after her asking, "Caroline Forbes, how would you know if any of the Mikaelsons are good kissers?  Have you been holding out on me?"

Caroline blushes and while she walks towards the stairs and the kitchen she tells her, "Um, Klaus might have come by to tell me he was going to New Orleans, and he may or may not have kissed me goodbye before leaving."

Bonnie giggles when she reaches the bottom of the stairs behind her and tells Caroline who is staring straight ahead to avoid having to look her oldest friend in the eyes, "Caroline, he left days ago, why am I only just hearing about this?  If he's anything like his brother, he's good enough that you would want to shout it from the rooftops."

Caroline giggles while she opens the freezer and with a dreamy look on her face she says, "Oh yeah."

Bonnie laughs before she takes the carton of ice cream and gets two spoons out of the drawer.  She turns to look at Caroline, and when she reaches for the ice cream Bonnie pulls it back and asks, "Is that the only time he's kissed you?"

Giggling, Caroline smiles wider and says, "Other than a couple of kisses to my cheek and forehead, yes, that's the only time he's kissed me, now hand over the ice cream before I get mean."

Bonnie giggles back and hands the ice cream and a spoon to her friend before Caroline smirks and asks, "So topless talking in bed…  Is that as far as you've ever gone or…"

Smiling but blushing profusely my granddaughter tells her honestly, "If I had ever gone farther you would have gotten it out of me long before today, so, yes, that's the first time any guy has ever touched me beneath my clothes, and he's the first guy to see any of my private parts without clothes on them."

Caroline smiles while she digs out a spoonful of ice cream.  She licks the bite off her spoon and then hands the carton to Bonnie before she asks, "So it was good then?"

Laughing, Bonnie tells her, "Oh my God, it was _so_ good.  He called me beautiful and then corrected himself and said I'm stunning."

Grinning, Caroline says, "Aww, he's a sweetheart."

Bonnie giggles and tells her, "Don't let him hear you say that.  He takes pride in being a tough guy."

Caroline giggles back and mimes zipping her lips then she frowns and asks, "So we have ice cream.  Do you want to tell me about Elena?  I assume you told her you're moving, and she didn't react well."

Bonnie frowns back and tells her, "Honestly it seemed like she couldn't care less, and I didn't get a chance to tell her.  Apparently, as soon as I left Stefan at The Coffee Shop, he called and warned her I was coming and why."

Frowning, Caroline asks, "So who else did you tell?  And how did they react?"

They head back to Bonnie’s room with their ice cream booty and sit on the bed again before Bonnie tells Caroline about her meetings with all their friends.  When she gets to the parts about Stefan's body count, Caroline’s eyes widen, and she asks, "Wait, he's killed hundreds of thousands, possibly more than two million, in less than 150 years and Kol hasn't even killed half that many in a thousand years?"

My granddaughter nods and tells her, "Honestly, it's worse than it sounds because although Kol was only out of his coffin for a little over 600 years, there are big chunks of Stefan's 146 vampire years that he was on animal blood and not killing humans.  According to Nik the 'ripper years' boil down to a little less than half of his time as a vampire, and Nik actually said he was generous with those numbers because it was actually probably a lot less in reality."

Caroline's eyes are wide before she asks, "Does Elena know?"

Bonnie shakes her head and says, "Probably not because Stefan is so careful about appearing to be the guilt-ridden, Bambi eating, good vampire.  He admitted to me today that he's not sorry about the deaths he's caused and that his persona he puts out into the world is all a lie."

Caroline frowns again and asks, "Wait, he did?"

Nodding slowly, Bonnie tells her, "He said Kol's older so of course, he's a better liar than Stefan is.  Given that we were talking about how Kol has apologized and expressed remorse for the pain and death he's caused Stefan was implying that everything about himself is really a lie and that Kol is the same way, and I'm just deluding myself if I think differently.  Oh, and he knows that Kol and company have their magick back.  I'm actually kind of surprised Elena didn't bring it up."

Caroline nods and says, "Me too, if she knew, I think she'd have said something."

Just then Bonnie's phone rings so she takes it out of her pocket and frowns at the number on the Caller ID, "It's Damon, but I just saw him," She pushes send and asks, "Damon, is everything okay?"

He sighs and sounds tired, when he says, "You tell me.  I just had an interesting conversation with my brother."

While my granddaughter cringes and sighs, Caroline thinks, _'Well damn, apparently Stefan is a freaking instigator.  Why and how did I never realize that about him before because it's become glaringly obvious today that he likes to stick his nose where it doesn't belong, and not only that he has absolutely no right to go telling Bonnie's business to anyone else.'_  

Yes, she knows she was a hopeless gossip until a few minutes ago, but she never did it with an ulterior motive, and we're both beginning to realize that Stefan has an ulterior motive for about everything he ever does. 

Caroline thinks, _'He needs to stop having a big fat mouth and let Bonnie decide who should know_ her _information and when they should know it.'_  

If she wasn't such a moral person, she thinks she might be inclined to ask Niklaus to compel Stefan the same way Bonnie just compelled her.

Damon's not done, so Caroline focuses on his words before he tells Bonnie, "I think you left parts out of the story you told me this afternoon."

Okay, time for damage control so even though he can't see her, Bonnie nods and tells him, "There were parts I didn't mention because I didn't want to upset you, and there is nothing that can be done to change it."

I can hear the scowl in his voice loud and clear while he bites out, "So it's true you gave The Originals back their magick?"

Caroline silently grouses, _'Stefan would freaking make it sound like she had actively given the Mikaelsons back their magick because Stefan has his own messed up agenda.'_  

Frowning my granddaughter tells him the truth, "I didn't do anything of the sort, Damon.  It was Kol's spell out of their mother's grimoire, and they performed it on themselves.  The only role I played it them getting their magick back is that I mentioned that they might want to try the spell themselves because when you think about it returning the balance to each of them has seriously mellowed all of them out.  You know I've been hanging out with them a lot.  I almost immediately noticed that they seemed calmer and less tense.  I thought it might just be the joy of having their magick back after a thousand years without it, but the next day they were just as calm and relaxed.  It's been that way every day since." 

That's true for Caroline as well.  While she's only spent a few days hanging out with Kol and Rebekah, she's spent far more time with Niklaus than probably anyone realizes.  It was enough time that she noticed a change too. 

She even thought about bringing it up to Niklaus, but she wasn't sure how well he'd take that, so she kept her opinion to herself.  It all clicked for her last night though when she learned that the Mikaelson's have their magick back. 

Caroline wholeheartedly believes part of the reason the originals have found it so easy to keep to the truce is that they have their magick and balance back for the first time in over a thousand years.  Of course, she thinks the other reason they've found it so easy to stick to the terms of the truce is sitting next to her on the bed right now.

Both girls sigh before Bonnie adds, "And for the record, Jer now has his arms back because Kol wrote the spell to do it, and while I'm the one who performed the spell, Kol probably wouldn't have bothered writing it if he didn't have _his_ magick back.  All I did was help them put themselves on an even keel again.  I didn't perform a spell to give them back their magick, they just used a spell they already had and cleansed themselves of their own imbalances same as I did."

Okay, Caroline is beginning to realize something else too, Kol cares for Jeremy.  She correctly thinks Kol considered Jeremy to be his friend when they were in Colorado and that he missed his friend when he returned here, and Jeremy and he were now on opposite sides. 

She thinks about it for a moment.  Kol easily compelled Damon to kill Jeremy.  Why didn't he just compel Elena to do the same thing?  She thinks Kol decided he really didn't want his friend dead, so he tried a different approach and don't ya know it worked. 

He's getting his friend back too because Caroline knows that Jeremy missed him just as much as Kol misses the teen.

Damon is silent for a minute before he says, "To your knowledge have they used their magick on anyone?"

My grandbaby shakes her head while she tells him, "No and they're more likely to compel someone or use brute force than to try to spell them.  Their vampire powers still make getting what they want infinitely easier to get than using magick would.  All it really did was fill the void inside each of them, which has vastly improved their overall disposition times a thousand."

She means that wholeheartedly too and Caroline and I both fully agree with her on that.  The Mikaelsons are far too practical to use the more complicated magick to get their way when they still have a remarkably simple and incredibly easier, not to mention less time consuming, way to get what they want from anyone. 

Well, they can use vampire compulsion on anyone except other witches that is, but they're too practical and like existing far too much to risk pissing off a witch by trying to force their will on one.  Not that she thinks they've had to deal with any witch other than Bonnie, but she honestly doesn't think they'd use magick against another witch unless the witch were attacking them.

Damon doesn't say anything for another minute then he says, "They're all leaving to go to New Orleans with you right?  None of them are staying behind?"

Bonnie nods, and she tells him, "Right, other than coming with me when I visit my Dad and Jer and Caroline, well, they probably won't be coming back, not in this lifetime anyway."

Caroline thinks, _'If we could come up with a way to bring Jer with us I'd move with them, too.  Nik did invite me.  Hmm, I'll have to think about the moral ramifications of asking one of the Mikaelsons to compel Elena and possibly Damon into allowing Jer to move to New Orleans.  He'd probably be safer with the Mikaelsons all things considered.'_

Caroline focuses back on her sire before he sighs, "Okay, then the chances of them using it on anyone I care about other than you is pretty slim, and I know better than most that you are perfectly capable of protecting yourself so I won't freak out on you, but I wish you had told me yourself, Bonnie.  I know we're not best friends and never will be after the horrible shit I did to Vampire Barbie, but Stefan's being an ass still, and he did not paint a pretty picture.  To be honest thinking, even for a minute, that you betrayed us sucked, so I need you to tell me these sorts of things in the future, okay?"

Bonnie nods again and then tells him, "Okay, then, in that case, you should know that I'm now immortal and linked to Kol."

He asks loudly, "You're what?"

"I'm immortal and linked to Kol.  Long story short, New Orleans is teeming with Mikaelson enemies right now.  Kol was worried they might try to outnumber me and take me out to hurt the Mikaelsons.  So, he wrote this spell that gave me all of the benefits of being him without any of the downsides.  Now, I have the speed, strength, and senses but no need or desire to drink blood or kill anyone, which by the way, how the heck do you stand all the noise?  My head is killing me because I'm hearing everything a thousand times louder than I was yesterday.  And I keep having to focus back on what I'm doing because all the little itty-bitty details I can now see like the tiny barely there cracks I can now see in the paint on my bedroom wall keep distracting me.

He chuckles and tells my grandbaby, "The noise thing takes some getting used to that's for sure, but if I recall correctly by the second day I had figured out how to focus on certain sounds or zone other sounds out to the point where I could ignore it all if I wanted to.  Plus, I think eventually your body will grow accustomed to its new senses, so it shouldn't give you a headache after a while.  As for minute details distracting you, honestly, that still gets me sometimes."

Caroline nods to show she agrees.  Even two years later she’s still easily distracted by visual details that she was oblivious to as a human.  Both girls giggle when Bonnie tells him, "Well at least now I know it's normal."

I can hear the frown in his voice when he asks, "Has Kol not told you all of this?  You may not technically be sired to him, but you are his responsibility."

Both Bonnie and Caroline smile at his uncharacteristic worrying and Bonnie tells him, "Relax Damon.  I just haven't had a chance to tell him because I literally did the spell with him about two hours before I went to see you, and, well, I was honestly preoccupied with other things at the time, so I just haven't brought it up to him, but I definitely plan to when I see him later today."

Caroline thinks, _'Preoccupied?  Is that what we're calling topless talking in bed these days?'_   She giggles again prompting Bonnie to frown at her before she tells Damon, "You should also know that I can feel all of Kol's emotions, so I know beyond a shadow of a doubt that he loves me back and would never harm me."

He sighs then says, "Okay, so long as he's not neglecting you and your needs.  Anyway, I trust you, amazingly enough, so I'm going to trust that you really do know what you're doing and that you're right that you're safe with him, or them I guess."

Caroline thinks, _'Um, wow that's very uncharacteristically big of him.'_

Bonnie just nods and tells him, "Thank you."

"You're welcome.  Well, I'm going to let you go.  I just wanted to get the facts from _you_ because at this point I don't really trust my brother farther than I can throw him."

Bonnie nods and says, "Okay I'll talk to you later," then she ends the call.

Caroline glances at her and says, "That was weird.  I would have expected yelling, lots of it, in fact.  Instead, he was civil, and did he actually laugh?"

Ordinarily Bonnie would agree completely, so she nods but tells her, "I know, and yes, yes, he did, but I think loving Elena _and_ having her love him back has mellowed him just like having their magick back has mellowed the Mikaelsons.  Plus, I know I told you about what happened New Years after you and Nik went upstairs but I think the Mikaelsons were sneaky when they told Elena, Stefan, and Damon that the compulsions Kol placed on them were reinstated.  I think they didn't want me and Jer to think too closely about what exactly all the compulsions were.  Don't get me wrong, I don't think Kol lied to me, but I think he told me as little as he could get away with."

Caroline nods and asks, "Are you okay with that?"

Bonnie shrugs and says, "I guess.  I mean I'm not stupid.  If Kol hadn't compelled everyone, then they'd have tried to kill the Mikaelsons a dozen times in the last seven weeks.  I don' t think Kol was forthcoming with his information, but I don't think he had an ulterior motive, or at least, not a bad one.  I believe whatever compulsions he placed on everyone were put there to keep the peace, nothing more."

Caroline nods before looking at the clock and telling Bonnie, "Well I'm supposed to have dinner with my mom tonight, she's apparently trying to overlook that I'm a vampire."

Bonnie leans over and hugs her before she says, "At least she's trying right?"

Caroline shrugs and says, "Yeah, that's true."

After tossing the now empty ice cream carton into the trashcan, Caroline grabs her purse and follows Bonnie down the stairs and out the door while Bonnie tells her, "I'll drive you back to your car because I need to go to the Mikaelson's house anyway."

Caroline nods but asks, "Are you sure?  I mean it's in the opposite direction, so I can just run there."

Bonnie smiles and tells her, "I'm sure Care."  She stops beside her car and says, "Get in."

She nods and then she gets in, and a moment later they leave my granddaughter's driveway.

While Bonnie drives, she tells Caroline about the conversation she had with Kol earlier in the day, "So, Caroline, I wanted to tell you about something Kol said."

She nods and asks, "Okay, what did he say?"

Smiling Bonnie glances over at her friend quickly before telling her, "Well I don't recall how exactly we got on the subject of your control of yourself and especially over your bloodlust, but he said that your level of control is second only to Elijah's and that even then it's a near thing.  He also said that given your young age and the fact that Elijah had been a vampire for decades at least when he had any amount of control that by the time you're as old as Elijah is now your level of control will far exceed Elijah's control."

Caroline’s blue eyes widen, and her mouth hangs slightly open.  She thinks, _'He actually said that?  Holy Cow!  That is a huge compliment.'_   She closes her mouth with an audible snap then asks, "He really said that?  I mean, I know compared to Stefan and even Damon my control seems better than theirs, but Elijah is the epitome of control.  I use him as an example, like when I think I might lose control I close my eyes and tell myself, 'Elijah would be calm, cool, and collected.'  Usually, it works, and I don't have to try anything else to remain in control.  I guess what I'm trying to say is he's my role model, like if he can do it then so should I."

Bonnie nods and tells her, "I told Kol that you have a lot of respect for Elijah, but I didn't realize you were literally using his behavior as a baseline for how you should react to things.  That's pretty cool to tell you the truth.  I've gotten to know Elijah a lot better since we made our truce, and you could really do a lot worse for people to try to be like.  That’s true of all the Mikaelsons at this point.  It's like now that they all have their magick back they've mellowed a ton, and even Nik's baseline of behavior has improved."

Caroline nods until she gets to that last part, and then Bonnie shrugs and tells her, "Don't get me wrong, he's still an ass pretty often, like when he tried to dagger Elijah yesterday, but it's almost like it's a knee-jerk reaction to fear, his being an ass that is.  Like when he feels fear, his defense mechanism is to lash out.  It's as if he thinks that if he gets the first shot in the other person is less likely to hurt him.  Anyway, I think he's an ass less because he's an actual ass and more because of the PTSD having his wolf side forcefully suppressed and running from Mikael for a thousand years caused."

That makes a lot of sense to Caroline, so she nods before Bonnie tells her, "I don't think I'm breaking a confidence by telling you that his wolf side was always there but just put in shackles.  He said that full moons were very painful because his body wanted to shift and follow the call of the wild but that he couldn't do it, and it physically hurt more often than not.  12 or 13 full moons a year for 1,009 years is a lot of pain to feel.  Not to mention the trauma of _both_ of his parents turning on him and betraying him and not for anything _he_ did.  They turned on him because of their own actions and the fact that they didn't like the outcome that _he_ had no control over."

Caroline nods and says, "I know.  We've talked about that stuff a bit.  I told him off at the Ball last fall and made a comment about because his father didn't love him he thinks _no one_ will ever love him.  I didn't really think of it in terms of it being PTSD, but now that you said it that makes a lot of sense and makes me see his actions in a new light.  I mean don't get me wrong I still don't like a ton of the things he's done even just since he came to town, but I think understanding him is the first step to truly knowing and loving him, and I find I want to be that for him.  I mean I want to love him just to show him that it _is_ possible and that he's totally worth the effort.  Don't get me wrong I'm still a ways off from truly loving him or being in love with him anyhow, but I don't think it'll always be that way.  Anyway, I hope that my friendship for now and the love of his family will begin to heal his old wounds, and maybe someday soon I'll wake up and realize that the sneaky bastard hasn't just wiggled his way into my heart, which he's already done, but that he also managed to make me fall for him."

Caroline smiles and then Bonnie something she hasn't told anyone else yet, "He called me yesterday.  I couldn't pick up because I was with Elena and Stefan.  He left me this really sweet message, though, about him being in his favorite place in the whole wide world and how all he could think about was sharing it with me.  I practically swooned every time I listened to it.  And before you ask, yes, I listened to it multiple times, _and_ I saved the message so I can listen to it as often as I want to."

My granddaughter giggles and nods before she says, "I totally would have too, and he does have a way with words.  All of them do really, and despite their emotional wounds, and major ones at that, they still know how to show that they love even if it makes them uncomfortable to admit verbally that they love someone.  They show it in their actions though, and I don' t think they put much thought into acting that way either.  I think it just comes naturally to them.  Even Nik daggering his siblings, I've heard enough to know that on several occasions he did it to protect either the one he was daggering or the rest of them or in most cases all of the above.  I think I've only heard of one instance where he daggered Kol for personal reasons."

Caroline nods, so Bonnie tells her about the second part of her conversation with Kol.  "I also wanted to tell you about something you and Kol both do.  He has books that he writes all his victims’ names in, and I'll admit that when I first heard that I thought he was sick and using the names in place of trophies.  He's not, though, it's his way of paying tribute to them.  He thinks if he remembers them and their names and how they died then their memory lives on even once everyone who knew them has died.  He said that it felt wrong to kill them and then just forget about them as if they never existed, or he didn't just snuff out their lives before their time."

Caroline thinks, _'Wow, apparently I have way more in common with Kol Mikaelson than I would have thought.'_  

Bonnie smiles gently and says, "I know you have that list in the back of your diary, so I just wanted to let you know that you're not the only one who tries to honor their victims the best they can after the fact."

Caroline’s eyes widen, and her jaw hangs open again while she looks at her she closes her mouth and tells Bonnie, "Well now I feel better because Elena said that Stefan kept lists in hidden closets but that it was totally his way of keeping trophies."

She pauses then asks a question she's not sure she should ask, "Uh, I know you said Kol's killed less than half as many people as Stefan has, but do you actually know how many that is?"

Bonnie nods and says, "Unless he's killed anyone I don't know about since we discussed this he said he's killed approximately 333,446 humans and about 1,516 werewolves, maybe 3,318 vampires, and no more than 237 witches.  Only seven of the witches were innocent, and they died when he was younger and still trying to get a handle on his bloodlust and anger management issues.  The other 230 witches all attacked him or those under his protection first.  Anyway, those are the death numbers give or take a dozen or so of each of the others in the 608 years that he was undaggered."

Caroline's eyes are wide again then she narrows them as she thinks hard and does the math then she tells the witch, "One kill a day for 608 years would be just over 222,070, so if he's killed about 333,446 humans, that's not even two a day, not even close actually.  It's more like 2 every two or three days and one on the off days."

Frowning my granddaughter tells her, "I think it was less a habit that he did every day or every other day and more or less that he couldn't stop when he was feeding in time to save them plus I think a good chunk of the ones you attributed to every other day were actually in groups.  He said it took him close to 300 years to be able to control his bloodlust and an unspecified even longer before he could get angry or jealous and not kill everyone present in his fit of rage.  While Stefan actively hunted and then spent hours at least torturing his victims I got the sense from Kol that his victims all died quick deaths unless he was defending or avenging himself or a loved one.  So Kol didn't do much by way of hunting other than needing to find a meal.  And he definitely didn't set out to terrorize anyone.”

Bonnie glances at Caroline out of the corner of her eye before focusing on the road again and saying, “The newspaper articles I read when looking into Stefan's history lead me to believe he actively enjoyed himself and took the time to write letters to the local newspapers.  He was a bonafide serial killer complete with crazy letters to the authorities and the newspapers.  A lot of the letters couldn't be published back then they were so graphic about what he had done to people and what he planned to do to more people, but the libraries in those areas have scanned the letters, and they're available online, and let me tell you they are sick and twisted."

Caroline thinks, _'Um wow, I had no idea Stefan did that.'_  

Bonnie frowns then adds, "Plus, if I ever doubted it was Stefan, I actually recognized his loopy cursive handwriting.  He played with the whole community every time working to increase their fear long before he ever got his hands on them."

Caroline’s eyes are as round as Frisbees while she just stares at her with her jaw hanging open. 

Bonnie nods and says, "Seriously, I was not kidding when I told you we shouldn't trust Stefan.  I'm more inclined to trust Damon because at least he's honest about the monster he's been.  I don't know that Stefan actively tries to hide it, but he certainly isn't upfront about his previous behavior.  I mean think about it.  He told Elena after he drank her blood that he had 'a little trouble' controlling himself when on human blood.  He was very obviously seriously downplaying that.  I can't figure out if it's because he didn't want the girl he was in love with to find out he's a ripper in general.  It’s either that or he was explicitly trying to keep her and the rest of us from discovering the true scope of his psycho ways."

Caroline nods and then tells her, "I think based on what you've just told me and on conversations I had with Stefan right after I turned that it was both.  I agree he's not as guilt-ridden as he pretends to be and definitely not guilt-ridden anywhere near as much as he ought to be based on the numbers you're giving me.  He said things that didn't make sense when he was trying to talk me into eating animals.  I could tell he really wasn't feeling it and that while he certainly didn't want me going around killing everyone whenever the mood suited me I thought that was more because he didn't want to be bothered with the hassle it would cause him if anyone knew there was a vampire or two living in town.”

She frowns and adds, “Plus, the way he laughed when I objected to killing Thumper or Bambi, well it wasn't really a humorous laugh but more like he thought I was ridiculously under qualified to be a vampire.  Anyway, I'd rather know exactly who is inhabiting our town so if you can forward me the links to those letters and stuff and any other information you found on Stefan I'd really like to look at all of it."

Bonnie nods and tells her, "My laptop is in my backpack, so I'll send it to you when I get to Kol's house."

Caroline smiles and nods back just before Bonnie pulls up to her car and parks.  My grandbaby turns and looks at her before she says, "Thank you, Caroline, I meant it earlier when I said you're a good friend.  You're the best."

They hug and then Caroline gets out of the car and unlocks hers before getting in.

My granddaughter is smiling ever so slightly when she pulls away from the curb and drives to Kol's house, and honestly so is Caroline when she pulls out and heads home to have mother-daughter bonding time. 

When Bonnie arrives, she gets out of her car and walks to the door.  Pausing, she knocks before waiting for someone to open the door.  A moment later Rebekah answers the door and says, "You know you don't have to knock anymore.  You can just come right on in."

Bonnie shakes her head but smiles while she walks past her and says, "There is no way I'm entering your house without knocking, or at least not until we get to New Orleans, and I actually live in the same house as all of you.  Until then, though, I'll keep on knocking, thank you very much."

Rebekah tilts her head and looks at her then in a serious, yet curious voice asks, "Why?  I mean if I tell you that you can just come on in then…?"

Bonnie laughs and tells her, "Seriously, Kol once told me that Nik would literally tear off heads if someone presumed to enter his house without knocking _and_ waiting for someone to let them in.  I may be crazy, but I'm definitely not stupid enough to piss off The Original Hybrid if I can help it."

Rebekah laughs at that so hard she bends over at the waist.  She's still laughing a moment later when Kol enters through the front door and stands beside Bonnie looking at his sister with an eyebrow raised, and those lips Bonnie thinks are wonderfully kissable quirked upward. 

He watches her laughing for a minute before he asks, "Sister, what has you laughing so uncontrollably?"

She stands up straight and though she giggles a little she manages to control her laughter for the most part before she tells him, "Bonnie actually thinks Nik could manage to best her in a fight."

Kol's eyebrow shoots up even higher before he turns to face Bonnie and asks, "Surely, by now you realize that none of us could get anywhere near you if you don't want us to?  That's why I let you fry my brain over and over so you could practice.  It's also why I taught you how to freeze people in place.  None of us, Nik included, can touch you if we can't move or speak."

Bonnie smiles and tells him, "I know _that_.  However, that does not mean I can just invade his or your personal space any ole time I want without knocking on the damn door and waiting to be let in."

Rebekah opens her mouth to argue, so Bonnie holds up her hand and tells them both, "It's a respect issue.  I respect all of you far too much to just trample all over your personal space.  Like I told Beks when we move to New Orleans and I reside in the same house as all of you, _then_ I'll stop knocking on the outside door.  I do, however, plan to continue knocking on bedroom doors and really any door that might be closed before I enter the room, but I'll only go into the room _after_ I'm told I can enter."

Kol smiles and then moves in front of her before putting his arms on her shoulders and leaning in to kiss her.  He pulls back and tells her, "You do whatever makes you comfortable.  However, I hate to break it to you, but you're the deadliest most powerful creature that's ever been in this house.  So, you can really do whatever you want because all three of my siblings and I are fully aware of that fact."

She frowns and asks, "You don't really believe that, do you?  I mean I'm just me, and you're all thousand-year-old vampires, and Nik is a hybrid at that.  I mean don't get me wrong I know I'm powerful, but you guys aren't anything to sneeze at either."

Kol bursts out laughing and asks, "I've never heard that phrase before, but I'm guessing based on the context of that sentence that you mean we're powerful in our own right?"

Bonnie smiles and nods, so he grins back and tells her, "Okay I'm not going to argue that.  I would, however, like to point out that you now have all of my strength and speed not to mention my senses and abilities _and_ my magick added to yours.  For the record, _your_ magick was far more powerful than mine and therefore more powerful than each of my siblings even before we added my power to yours.  So, I repeat, you are the most powerful and potentially deadliest creature to ever set foot in this house."

Frowning, Bonnie tells him, "Yeah about that, I compelled Caroline.  Once without meaning to and then a second time when she told me to force her out of her gossiping ways."

Kol and Rebekah both laugh at that before Kol smiles and asks, "Is that the only thing you've noticed?"

Shaking her head, she tells them, "No, I actually have a headache from how loud everything seems, and I keep getting distracted by all the minute details I can now see."

Kol nods and asks, "Have you eaten?"

Shaking her head, she asks him, "Does sharing a pint of Chunky Monkey with Caroline count?"

Chuckling, he says, "No, so why don't you come sit with us in the kitchen, and you can instruct us on how to cook dinner, and then when we're done we can go upstairs and lay down for a bit while you try to learn to control what you hear and what you don't hear."

Bonnie nods, so Rebekah leads them into the kitchen where Bonnie sits at the island and takes her laptop out of her backpack while Rebekah goes to the refrigerator and begins taking things out. 

My grandbaby opens and starts her computer while Rebekah turns with a package of tortellini in her hands.  She tells Bonnie, "So Jeremy mentioned over the holidays that you guys enjoy tortellini with pesto and pine nuts when you've had a rough day.  I went out and bought some after you left because I figured you'd need comfort food after dealing with Elena and telling her your news."

Nodding, Bonnie smiles at her, so Rebekah asks, "How'd that go by the way?"

Bonnie's lip quivers slightly, and she fights back tears at the memory before she proceeds to tell them all about her talks with her friends, "Damon was pretty cool.  He accepted it and didn't make a big deal out of it."

Kol smiles and tells Rebekah, "She wasn't as firm about her feelings for me as she could have been so when she said she might be in love with me he told her that either she was, or she wasn't because there is no in between.  He was remarkably supportive, though."

Bonnie’s eyes widen at his words, and she slowly turns her face towards him.  He’s grinning while she asks, "And how exactly do you know that he said there is no in between?"

Smiling brightly, he kisses her cheek before telling her, "I was worried that your friends might lash out at you so I may have followed you and eavesdropped on all of your conversations."

My granddaughter's eyebrows shoot up into her hairline, and she opens her mouth to complain, but he smiles wider and tells her, "I know I just got done telling you that you're the most powerful creature in the world, but I know you.  You would have hesitated if one of your friends or former friends attacked you, and I wasn't willing to risk your safety just so that you could have privacy, so I stayed close and kept my eye out for signs of trouble."

She's frowning with narrowed eyes, so he continues, "Bonnie can you really blame me not only after Elena and Stefan found a way around my compulsions but also after the conversation we had about Stefan earlier?  I won't apologize for worrying about you _or_ for staying close enough to do something if someone attacked you.  You know my romantic history well enough that you should know by now that your safety is not something I'm willing to risk, not even so you can have privacy.  I—I just can't risk you.  I know you can't die anymore, but I will tear apart anyone who dares touch you in a way that harms you or causes you pain, and I know you well enough to know that you'd be hurt emotionally _and_ mentally if I hurt one of your friends no matter how much they've been hurting you lately.”

He shrugs and says, “So, I made a judgment call, and as I said I _won't_ apologize."

She thinks, _'Um wow, okay, so I can sort of see his point, especially if you consider his family's history with my friends.  We usually attacked them after making promises not to attack, so his worry that one of my friends might lose their cool or act impulsively isn't a totally unreasonable worry.'_  

It's not like she planned to keep any of what her friends said to herself.  There are things about each other that they might not know about the other just yet but she doesn't intentionally have any secrets from Kol.  She doesn't intend to change that, _ever_ , so while she wishes he had told her up front that he was going to be there, she's not actually angry. 

She smiles and tells him, "I'm not mad.  I wish you had told me you were coming.  Hell, I might have even let you come inside Damon's house and to the Coffee Shop with me."

He smiles back and tells her, "I appreciate the sentiment, but we both know none of your friends would have been comfortable with me there, which is why I chose to do it the way I did.  I was fairly certain you would have made that offer, and I wanted you to be able to have as positive an experience as possible, and I knew very well my presence would have impeded that from happening."

Smiling my grandbaby nods before leaning over in her seat and kissing his cheek, "Thank you, Sparkle Pants."

He nods while smiling big before Rebekah frowns while she waits for the water to boil and asks, "He rudely invaded your privacy, _and_ he didn't trust you to take care of yourself, and you're _thanking_ him?"

Bonnie laughs and nods before saying, "I know what happened to Eija, and I know what happened to Chalina.  How can I fault him for trying to protect me?  He's not wrong that I would have asked him to join me if he told me he would be there, and he's also not wrong about how my friends, especially Stefan and Elena would have responded to his presence.  I mean, if he were just trying to be a tyrant, then, yeah, I'd be upset and give him hell about it.  He didn't try to control me, though.  He let me do what I wanted and just took the steps he felt were necessary to allow me to do what I wanted while keeping me safe without my even knowing."

Kol smiles while she pauses then she continues telling them, "I think we need to work on our communication skills and let each other know what we're doing and thinking, but I think that will come with time as we get to know each other better.  Other than his lack of communicating, I don't really see anything wrong with what he did.  Honestly, I wasn't entirely sure I'd be safe as evidenced by the fact that I met Stefan in a public place to minimize the likelihood that he'd flip his lid."

Kol's eyes narrow before he asks with some heat in his voice, "You were really worried about his reaction, and you still met with him?"

She nods slowly, "Um, yes.  I needed to tell him, and I didn't want him to hear the news from someone else.  It's not a big deal."

Kol's eyes flash before he says, "It's not a big deal?   It's not a big deal?  Of course, it's a big deal.  He could have hurt you, and everything that I now know about him says he would have done it and not thought twice about it."

My granddaughter places her hand over his on the counter, but he pulls his hand away.  Taking a deep breath, she tries to push down the pain in her chest at his action before she tells him, "It's not a big deal because while I might hesitate to protect myself from some of my other friends, Stefan is not on that list.  If he came at me, I would have frozen him and then fried his brain just like you taught me to.  I—please don't be angry.  I'm sorry.  I won't—"

Kol’s face falls when Bonnie's lip begins to tremble, so he turns to face her completely and pulls her into his arms before saying, "Stop, you don't need to apologize.  I was an arse.  I've said a million times that you have good instincts, and I said multiple times today that you're the most powerful creature to ever step foot in this house, and because Stefan is among those who have entered our home and I believe you when you say you wouldn't hesitate with him… well, I told you a couple times through the last couple of weeks that I still have trouble controlling my anger or jealousy sometimes.  While I'm not jealous of Stefan, I'm sorry I pulled away from you.  I was angry mostly because I was scared after the fact."

Nodding, while he runs his hand up and down her back she snuggles into his arms for a minute before speaking into his chest telling him, "'S okay.  I should have planned it all a little better because really if Stefan wanted to blow up in public nothing, not even witnesses would have stopped him.  Maybe I got incredibly lucky."

He kisses the top of her head and asks, "Remind me again why I haven't killed him already?"

Giggling, Bonnie tells him quite honestly, "Uh, you haven't killed him because that would break our truce.  Then Damon would come after you, and you'd easily kill him, which would cause Elena to lose her mind and come after you, and then she'd be dead.  Caroline, Jer and I all much prefer them alive no matter how annoying they've been lately, so you’ve been ignoring their bad behavior out of love for us."

While Rebekah puts the pasta into the boiling water Kol smiles and says, "Right, I knew there was an excellent reason.  I just couldn't recall what it was."

Bonnie giggles again before telling the rest of her story.  She only pauses long enough for Rebekah to hand her a plate full of yummy tortellini in pesto sauce with crunchy pine nuts.  _'Yay!'_  

She finishes telling the end of her tale in between bites and then when she's all done relaying the events of the afternoon to them, Rebekah begins telling her all the things she wants to take with them when they move.

When Bonnie takes her last bite, she looks over at Kol and giggles because his face is slack, and his eyes are unfocused.  She nudges his shoulder and asks him, "I need to forward some links to Caroline, but other than that are you ready to go snuggle upstairs while I try to get a handle on these new supernatural senses?"

He smiles when his eyes fall and focus on her before he nods so after she rinses off her plate and the dishes Rebekah dirtied making dinner, she puts them in the dishwasher and then takes a moment to collect and forward all the links about Stefan being a grade-A psycho.  When she's done doing that, she takes Kol's hand allowing him to lead her up to his bedroom.


	21. Guess Now I Know Why

**______________________________________________________________________________**

**Chapter 021**

**Guess Now I Know Why**

**______________________________________________________________________________**

**Thursday, January 20, 2011, 7:30 p.m.**

**Kol's Bedroom**

**______________________________________________________________________________**

Kol is lying on his bed with his arms wrapped around my granddaughter.  They're not really doing anything other than enjoying holding each other, which has given him a suspicious warmth in his chest.

He’s is trying to ignore how angry Elena's actions and words caused him to be this afternoon while he listened to Bonnie and her former best friend talk at Elena’s front door.  He thinks, _'The bratty girl is completely overlooking that Stefan Salvatore has killed far more people than I ever did.  She's also overlooking that I, not to mention my siblings, never tortured any of our victims while he tortured most of his, even the children, which for the record I'm not sure I've ever killed a single child never mind the sheer number of them that Stefan did.  And Elena Fucking Gilbert is just going to overlook those facts and condemn her best friend because my Little Bella went and did the same thing that hypocritical bitch has done twice now — fall in love with a killer.'_  

Kol's arms tighten around Bonnie while he recalls her admission in the kitchen that she was worried about her own safety while meeting Stefan.  He wonders, _'Should I go compel him to never kill anyone who is not a direct and immediate threat to him or innocents or should I leave it be and just keep a closer eye on him whenever he might interact with Bonnie or Caroline.  Jeremy could be in danger from him, too, and with us, in New Orleans, there will be only Caroline and Damon left to protect him.  Damn, I think I'm going to need to go compel him after all because Bonnie would not survive harm befalling Caroline or Jeremy, especially if that harm was at the hands of one Stefan Salvatore.'_

He pulls Bonnie in tighter to him and asks, "What would you say if I told you I'm seriously considering compelling Stefan not to be able to harm you, Caroline or Jeremy?  I mean, I don't give a shit if he hurts Elena but you three matter to my family and me so…"

My grandbaby tilts her head up from where it's resting against his chest and kisses his chin before telling him, "Aww, you're worried about us.  That's sweet.  I'd prefer you do it so that he can't hurt anyone if you're going to insist on doing it."

He peers down at her and meets her eyes when she moves her head so that she can see his face before he asks her, "You'd really let me do it?"

Pausing, she considers the ramifications of his compelling Stefan before she grins a little and tells him, "Yes, if you promise to make him not harm or kill anyone who's not a threat to him, his brother, Elena, Tyler, Matt, Caroline, Jer, me, or any other innocent.  I'd also want you to compel him to permanently turn on his emotions if they're not already.  I’m not entirely sure they are, and I want him to keep them on for the rest of his existence, not that it’ll make much difference since most of his kills were made with his emotions on.  I also want him to never lose control while feeding ever again.  And can you compel him to continue drinking animal blood for the rest of his existence so that he won't get more strength back?  I actually prefer him as weak as possible without actually starving him."

He nods and kisses her forehead before telling her, "I agree about keeping him as weak as possible.  I'll go find him tomorrow and give him the compulsions you just told me to give him.  I’ll also make him protect you, Jer, and Caroline at all costs and to never threaten or try to harm any of the three of you."

She frowns and asks, "How exactly did you catch him without Vervain in his system to compel him not to take Vervain?  If you hadn't, you'd need to figure out a way to get him off it without breaking the truce by kidnapping him, then bleeding him, and starving him.  He's told all of us that he was taking Vervain pretty much since he found out Katherine was doing the same thing."

Kol smiles pleased that his brother took care of that without his knowledge long before he ever went and compelled Bonnie's friends.  He tells her, "Little known fact, and I'd appreciate it if you keep this to yourself, but Nik compelled Stefan and most of your other friends to never take or wear Vervain again back when he first came to town, so if I can locate him, I can easily compel him to do or not do whatever I please."

Her hazel eyes widen at that news, but a moment later she giggles and tells him, "That's such a Nik thing to do.  Okay, so if you can compel him without hurting him or kidnapping him, then I won't object, though you might want to compel him to keep to the truce again just to be safe."

He nods and then they lapse back into silence.  He chuckles a moment later when he recalls just how much he enjoyed Bonnie's conversation with Caroline.  He kisses the top of her head again and then asks, "So you think I'm an excellent kisser, and so is my brother if you choose to believe Caroline."

Bonnie groans and tells him, "Don't let it go to your head, Sparkle Pants."

Nodding, he says, "Oh, I already knew just how good I am.  Remember I told you that first day that I'm so good at sex I ought to be paid to do it, and that definitely includes the art of kissing."

He tightens his hold on her infinitesimally while she giggles and squeezes her arm around him before he tells her, "I did have a good laugh when Caroline talked you into compelling her not to be a gossip anymore, though.  At least now you’ve solved that problem.  I had to be careful not to laugh too loudly, though, or both of you would have heard me because you now have vampire senses."

She nods after giggling again, and then they lapse into silence once more while Bonnie tries to acclimate to these new vampire-like senses, which Kol knows from his own experience is going to take time for her to grow accustomed to them. 

She can hear everything Rebekah is doing downstairs including both sides of her phone conversation with Elijah while they discuss the finer aspects of their impending move. 

A few minutes later, Rebekah hangs up with Elijah, and the bang of a car door closing outside in their driveway reaches them all mere seconds after the blonde turns off her phone.  Then the urgent tap-tap-tap of a knock on the front door reverberates through the house, and Rebekah answers it before she says, "Jeremy, are you okay?  You don't look too good."

Bonnie looks up at her vampire with her cheek still resting on his chest and asks, "What's Jeremy doing here?"

He shrugs, so she gets up off the bed with him right behind her while she begins quickly walking towards the door of his room, and Jeremy's voice echoes through the halls when he tells Rebekah, "Rebekah, hi, I'm sorry to just drop by unannounced.  I would have called you, but I think my sister deleted Kol and Elijah's numbers from my phone.  She had to have done it while I was asleep this morning because Elijah called last night to check up on me again.  Anyway, for whatever reason, I don't have any of your family's numbers, and I need to talk to Bonnie and possibly Kol.  I kind of can't wait, so is she here, and can I talk to her?"

As the duo in question walks down the stairs Rebekah tells him, "Yeah, sure, come on in." 

She tells him, "Give me your phone for a second."

He does, and she quickly types something into it and then says, "There, now you have mine and all of my brother's numbers and email addresses if you ever need them."

He lets out a sigh and nods before he says, "Thank you, Rebekah."

She nods back and leads him farther into the foyer after telling him, "No problem, Jer, we should have given you our numbers the other night, but it honestly didn't occur to me that you didn't already have them.  If you think your sister has been messing with your phone, you might want to password protect it, though."

He sighs and says, "It already is, but it's an easy enough password that if Elena gave it much thought, she could probably guess it within a few tries so maybe I should change it to something that no one can guess.  In math class the other day we were learning about Fibonacci sequences, so maybe I should pick a number and then do a Fibonacci sequence.  Elena will be clueless if I do that."

Rebekah giggles and then says, "But now, Kol, Bonnie and I all know."

He smiles and asks her, "Hmm, I wonder what it says about my relationship with my sister that I trust The Original Family of Vampires with that knowledge way more than I trust Elena with it.  I mean who deletes numbers off other people's phones?  Who does that?"

The boy pauses then smiling gently says, "I'll be honest, you have a real knack for being a vindictive bitch when it's called for, but I can't see you ever being as immature as Elena apparently is and deleting the numbers of people you don't like off of any of your brother's phones."

She giggles and shakes her head before confiding, "I might have centuries ago if phones existed back then, but I like to think I've matured beyond that sort of pettiness in the last few hundred years."

Jeremy chuckles and says, "Personally, I think you have, so no worries."

She beams at him and leads him toward the stairs.

When Kol and Bonnie finally see Jeremy's face, he's smiling at Rebekah, but his eyes are red with drying tear tracks on his cheeks, so neither original is surprised when Bonnie rushes to him and asks, "Jer, what happened?  Why didn't you call me?  I would have come to you."

The ghost whisperer frowns and says with some bite, "Because my bitch sister compelled me not to talk to you on the phone anymore, and because she's the one who's been supplying me with my Vervain I have no clue what else she's compelled me to do or not do."

Kol thinks, _'She compelled him?  Thank God I planned for that possibility when I placed all my compulsions on everyone.  Although technically he's not compelled anymore so unless Elena has been actively keeping his Vervain from him he shouldn't have been able to be compelled.'_

Bonnie's voice wobbles a little as she says, "I have no idea what to say to that Jer.  What do you need from us?  Whatever you need, if it's mine to do or give, I will."

Jeremy smiles slightly and says, "I'm hoping Kol will do me a couple of favors, even though I already owe him many for my nurses and my arms.  I'd like him to compel Elena to take all her compulsions off me, and then I'm hoping he was serious about me moving with them, and he'll compel her to let me move with you if the rest of the Mikaelson's don't mind me tagging along.  I can't live with someone who is willing to force me into compliance if I do something they don't like.  And I was serious about not knowing what else she might have compelled me to do."

Kol thinks, _'He wants to move with us?  Okay, I didn't see_ that _coming, but he's a good kid, and he's unflinchingly loyal to Bonnie.'_   Kol's also certain that with just a little more time and effort on his and his sister's parts Jeremy will be completely loyal to their family, too, so like he thought last night he's not opposed to Jeremy coming with them.  They'll have to take steps to protect him from their enemies, but I think between his siblings, Bonnie, and himself they should be able to keep him safe.  Plus, Kol gets a perverse sense of victory, not to mention satisfaction, at the idea of Elena Gilbert's little brother preferring his company to hers.

Jeremy pauses then says quietly, "When I found out vampires were real, I felt just a little less safe in the world, but that's nothing to how I feel right now.  I… I feel like my world just imploded on itself.  The one person I should be able to trust beyond everyone else just took that trust and stomped all over it before tossing it out the freaking window." 

He’s breathing heavily before he pauses and then adds derisively, "I mean, I suppose I shouldn't be surprised because she had Damon compel me twice, but those at least were 'for my own good.'  _This_ was simply because I didn't agree with her that you've turned evil."

As more tears spill over his cheeks, Rebekah puts her hand on his shoulder, and he jumps slightly before she says, "Shh, Jeremy.  You're safe here, and even if my brother doesn't compel her to take her compulsions off you, I will, and while I can't speak for my brothers I think Bonnie and I can adequately convince them to let you come with us.  Now, do you know if Kol's reinstated compulsion to avoid Vervain is still in place?  If it's not that will slow things down if she takes it regularly, so we'll have to get her off it before I can compel her."

Since Kol hasn't died again, that shouldn't be a problem.  He compelled her just before he died to believe that the pain was just too much, so she now thinks she willingly stopped taking it and because Kol was able to reinstate his compulsions that should still be in effect.  Without Bonnie's knowledge just after the new year Elijah went and bit all her friends, save Caroline and Jeremy, making sure they were still Vervain free.  Then Niklaus, who accompanied his older brother on the errand, ensured Kol's previous compulsions were still in place and that any future temporary deaths won’t nullify Kol’s compulsions again by compelling them all himself. 

This was before they realized the daggers don't work anymore so the two older originals figured that that way the compulsions would still be valid even if Kol were daggered again.  Though, it should be noted that neither one of his brothers had any plans to do such a thing.  They didn't survive so long by not preparing for every possibility, though. 

Anyway, because Niklaus is less likely than any of his siblings to temporarily die, they thought it would be prudent to back up all their family's compulsions on all the residents in Mystic Falls that they might have previously compelled.  The Mikaelsons' three young friends don't know that, but all of the original brothers do, so Kol is relatively sure that Elena is still following all his compulsions.

Kol blinks, though, when Jeremy smiles, and it's not a friendly smile, in fact, it rivals some of Kol's smiles in its not niceness.  Jeremy says, "Elena thinks she stopped taking the Vervain a few weeks ago because it hurt too much for her to drink it, so you should be able to compel her right away.  Thank you, Kol for that fact, by the way."

Kol nods and says, "You're welcome.  I'm surprised you're not angry I compelled your sister, though."

Jeremy smiles slightly and this one is much nicer before he says, "I know it's what's allowed us all to keep the peace and I know based on what Elena and Stefan did as soon as your compulsion was released that they totally would have attacked you guys if you hadn't compelled them not to.  Besides, it works in our favor now, so I'm not going to look a gift horse in the mouth, as my Dad would always say."

He pauses and then smiles slightly brighter before shrugging and saying, "I never did understand why you wouldn't want to look it in the mouth, but whatever."

Kol chuckles and tells him, "In centuries past, if you were given a horse as a gift, it was considered rude and uncouth to then inspect its teeth in front of the gift giver because that would be a direct insult to the individual.  As for what one would specifically gain by looking at the teeth, you can gauge the age of a horse by looking at the length of its teeth.  The longer they are, the older and probably less fit the horse is."

Jeremy smiles an ear to ear grin, which was Kol’s goal, and nods before he tells Kol, "So cool.  Is it weird that I really like being friends with people who have been alive for centuries?  The stuff you guys know simply because of how long you've been alive just amazes me, and I loved hearing the stories you and Rebekah were telling us when we stayed here for Christmas and New Year’s not to mention during and after the movie yesterday, especially the ones about Haiti.  Even Damon tells me things about the places and times he's seen, and so far as I know, he doesn't even like me."

Bonnie and Kol laugh.  Kol shakes his head to tell Jeremy that it's not weird while Bonnie takes her phone out of her pocket and then pauses before dialing and says, "I don't think it's weird, but I tend to feel the same way.  All four Mikaelson's are constantly telling me things about history and other cultures that they've seen and experienced, and I love that so much."

Jeremy nods, so she nods back and then dials.  When Damon picks up, she asks him, "Damon, is Elena with you?"

His frown is evident in his voice when he says, "No, why is something wrong?"

My grandbaby frowns, and with a hard edge in her +-voice she tells him, "Oh yeah, the bitch just compelled Jeremy not to call me on the phone anymore because she doesn't like that he's still friends with me."

Damon shouts, "She did what?"  He pauses then lowers his voice before he asks her, "Are you sure?"

Her frown deepens while she nods and tells him, "Jer's standing right here very upset that his sister just betrayed his trust in her, again, so yeah I'm sure."

Damon’s obviously still frowning when he asks, "What do you need from me?"

She frowns even deeper before nodding to herself once and telling her sort-of-maybe-friend, "I need you to help me set it up so that we can compel Elena to remove any and all compulsions she's placed on Jeremy.  She's the one who's been supplying him with the Vervain water to drink, and he's unsure if this is the first time she compelled him or not.  Let's face it if she compelled him once then there is a very real possibility that she's done it multiple times.  Then we're going to compel her to grant custody of Jeremy to Elijah, and Jer is going to come live with Caroline and me and the Mikaelson's in New Orleans."

Damon's surprise is evident in his voice when he asks, "Caroline's going, too?"

Bonnie nods again and tells him, "She was invited and given that I'm bringing Jer and the fact that Jer and me being here were the only reasons she said no, yeah, I'm pretty sure she'll change her mind."

Damon's frown is still apparent in his voice when he asks, "Well, can't Rebekah or Kol just compel Elena not to compel him ever again, and he can stay here?"

Frowning, my granddaughter tells him, "She completely broke his trust and faith in her.  How can we ask him to continue living with her when he's afraid of her and what she will do to him if he upsets her again?  And more than that, how can we leave him where she could hurt him because if she can't compel him, there's nothing to say she won't actually lose her temper and hurt him instead."

Damon sighs and says, "Okay, I see your point.  Can I talk to him for a minute?"

My precious girl looks at Jeremy who is listening to her side of the conversation intently and asks, "Jer, he wants to talk to you if you're willing."

He sticks out his hand, and when she puts the phone in his hand, he brings it up to his ear and says, "Yeah?"

Damon sighs and says more quietly than is customary for him, "Jer, I'm sorry it's come to this.  Are you physically okay?  She didn't threaten or hurt you?"

Jeremy sighs back and tells the usually sarcastic vampire, "No, she just compelled me never to talk with Bonnie on the phone again.  Damon, she didn't seem surprised that it worked, so I really think she's been purposefully withholding the Vervain."

Damon sighs again and says, "I hate to say it, but if she didn't seem surprised, then you're probably right, and as much as I can't stand the Mikaelsons, I trust Bonnie and Caroline.  I firmly believe that Kol and Klaus will curb any violence towards you to please them, and Elijah, as reluctant as I am to admit it, is far too honorable to harm you without you attacking him or his family first, so you should be safe with them.  Plus, Rebekah has always just wanted friends, and because I know you, Bonnie, and Care are among the best friends a girl could ask for I'm inclined to think she won't hurt you either, so I'll help you set up Elena so one of the Mikaelsons can compel her.  I need you to promise to call me if anything goes wrong, though, and we'll come up with another plan if living with The Originals doesn't work out, okay?"

Jeremy sighs in relief and says, "Okay, thank you, Damon."

"No problem, I know we haven't always gotten along, and that's mostly been my fault because I'm the one who killed Vicki and _you_ , but you're a good kid, and you deserve not to live in fear that your guardian is going to compel you to do things that you don't want to do.  To that end, I'm going to give you some money, and I want you to get a P. O. Box in New Orleans.  Once it's set up give me the billing details, and I'll pay the bill on it every month, and I'll use the box to send you Vervain so that you can put it in your own food and know for sure that no one is trying to compel you."

Jeremy nods and says, "Okay, thanks, I'll text you the address as soon as I set it up."

"Good, and I'll pack a box of it for when you guys come over tonight, so you can take it with you."

Jeremy smiles and asks, "Okay, so how do we do this?  Elena's not going to be willing to come here so…"

Damon sighs again but tells him, "Ask whichever original is going to do the compelling what time they can get here, and I'll call Elena and arrange for her to show up a few minutes after they get here."

Rebekah smiles and says, "We can be there in 25 minutes, Damon."

He tells her, "Okay, then I'll call Elena in fifteen and invite her to come and stay the night.  That'll give us a little while because she'll need to pack a bag and then drive here."

Jeremy frowns and says, "Thank you, Damon."

Damon is probably frowning again when he tells him, "I should have used The Sire Bond to make sure she couldn't hurt you, but I honestly didn't think it would come to this.  I know she loves you, but she just hasn't been right since you lost your arms."

Jeremy sighs and says, "You mean since she knew for certain that she's stuck as a vampire."

Damon releases his own heavy breath, "Yes, that's what I meant."

Jeremy's frown lines have frown lines before he says, "Okay, so we'll be over in 25, okay?"

I imagine Damon is nodding when he tells him, "See you then."

Jeremy ends the call and hands Bonnie back her phone.  She looks at Rebekah and then at Kol standing beside her and asks, "Which of you is going?"

They glance at each other for a minute and then Kol says, "I think we'll both go, because if we're going to The Salvatore Boarding House, we may also have to deal with Stefan, so the two of us and you should be enough to keep Stefan from interfering and allow one of us to compel Elena.  Little Bella, have you told Jer what happened with Caroline?"

She shakes her head and turns and says, "I was telling her that Kol and I did The Linking Spell this morning, and I accidentally compelled her.  Then she told me to do it again and compel her not to be able to tell mine or the Mikaelsons' secrets.  After she taught me how to do it on purpose, I managed to do it, and we're pretty sure it stuck."

Jeremy asks the obvious question, "She actually asked you to compel her not to gossip?"

When she nods, he laughs before he says, "Too funny.  That's such a Care thing to do and part of the reason I love her like a sister."  His smile drops from his face when he sobers quickly and frowns before asking, "Why wasn't _she_ taking Vervain, though?"

Kol shakes his head, "Nik compelled her with the rest of most of your friends before Elijah released my siblings and me from our coffins.  I don't believe Nik removed it even though he hasn't used it either, so it should still be in effect.  Incidentally, Elena was able to compel you in part because of the compulsion I placed on you to remain Vervain free.  Although, when I died in mid-December it should have allowed you to resume taking the herb, so I have the sneaking suspicion that Elena might have interfered.  I'll ask when I have her remove her compulsions from you."

Jeremy nods and says, "I'm not mad at you for compelling me.  I get why you did it.  I will be mad, though, if Elena compelled me to remain Vervain free, but not at you."

Kol smiles with relaxed muscles and says, "Thank you for understanding.  I honestly thought you would keep the truce, but I didn't want to take any unnecessary chances and risk having to hurt any of you, so I took the extra precaution.  I am grateful that you seem to forgive me, though.  Now, not to interrupt myself, but we should really be going if we're planning to get there before Elena does."

Bonnie runs upstairs and gets her purse, and then she hurries back down the stairs and follows Kol and the others out to the SUV Niklaus left behind for his siblings to use.

They don't talk on the drive over, and Kol is hoping that Stefan isn't going to involve himself because, despite the younger vampire's crimes, Kol knows Bonnie will frown on either he or his sister harming him tonight.

Kol pulls up on the side of the road in front of the woods that are behind the Salvatore's house and parks before telling all of them, "The house is through those woods.  I recommend we walk the rest of the way, so Elena won't see the car and know something is amiss."

They all nod, and Kol opens the glove compartment and takes out a flashlight before handing it to Jeremy, "Here because you don't have night vision this will help you not fall and hurt yourself."

Jeremy nods, and they all get out of the car and begin trekking through the woods.  Surprisingly Jeremy is almost as quiet as the rest of them despite being human.  He easily navigates the woods with the flashlight, and when they reach the house, they walk around it to the front door, and Bonnie opens the door and heads inside. 

Damon looks up from where he's sitting in the living room nursing a stiff drink.  He sighs and says, "Stefan got home just after I hung up with you, and he just left again for the night.  I told him she was staying over tonight so he wouldn't stick around.  I have no idea where he goes on the nights she stays here, but I figure I'll worry about that later, for now, we need him not to be here, so…  Anyone else want a drink, because I have to say finding out someone you trust just forced their will on someone you care about for the sole purpose of getting their way in an argument, well, it leaves me with a distinct need to get drunk."

Jeremy surprisingly laughs and says, "I would totally be down with a drink, but I know you won't allow it so…"

Damon chuckles and says, "I might in this situation."

Bonnie speaks up then as the voice of reason, "I think we need to be sober to deal with Elena.  When should she be here?"

Damon looks at the clock on the wall and says, "Probably five more minutes."

She nods and asks, "Should any of us hide, or how are we doing this?"

Kol frowns and says, "I think the moment she walks in, I'll catch her eyes and then ask for a list of all the compulsions she's placed on Jeremy.  Then I'll compel her to remove the compulsions and then never to compel him ever again after that."

He smiles gently at Bonnie and asks her, "Did you tell Damon about what happened with Caroline?"

She shakes her head and then elaborates on what she already told Damon about The Linking Spell and how she's now able to compel vampires and that she accidentally and then on purpose compelled Caroline.

He laughs and asks, "She actually asked you to compel her not to be a gossip?"

Bonnie nods, and he smiles and says, "I'm going to miss her, believe it or not."

Bonnie smiles back, and then all of them with vampire senses hear Elena's car pull into the driveway.  Jeremy, Bonnie, and Rebekah move to the side, so Elena won’t immediately see them, and then Kol steps closer to the entrance of the room. 

The minute she walks through the doorway, Kol says, "Elena," causing her to look at him, and he catches her eyes and compels her, "How many times have you compelled your brother since becoming a vampire?"

She frowns and is obviously fighting the compulsion, but the brat still says, "Five times if you don't count the four making him forget I compelled him."

Damon and Jer's eyes both pop wide open and Damon says, "Oh, Elena."

Rebekah frowns deeply before Kol asks, "What were the five compulsions?"

The fact that she is being compelled to answer does not keep her apparent attitude out of her voice.  She sneers and says, "When he lost his arms, he needed so much help getting around, so before he got himself a nurse I compelled him to sit in his room and not to make a noise so I wouldn't have to help him around the house.  Then later that day I compelled him not to tell anyone I wasn't helping him out and to actually make it sound like I was helping despite being mad at him.  I also compelled him to never take Vervain again.  The next day after he had his nurses I removed the compulsion keeping him from telling people that I wasn't helping him and was avoiding him because I thought it might be too suspicious after Damon and Caroline both commented on how I was acting so I figured Jer would bitch so I let him.  Then today I compelled him not to talk to Bonnie on the phone anymore.  I figure because she's leaving she'll just assume he doesn't want anything to do with her anymore, but I forgot to make him forget the compulsion."

So, Jeremy was right, it wasn't the first time, and it wasn't the worst compulsion by far.  Kol smiles his not nice smile and compels her, "When I release you, you will release all of your compulsions on Jeremy, and then you will never compel him or anyone else you call friend or family, past, present, or future, ever again.  Furthermore, when you receive papers in a few days transferring guardianship of your brother to Elijah, you will not argue.  You will just immediately sign the papers and give them to Damon."

Kol pauses and lets her repeat everything back then he says, "You will never attack nor try to harm Bonnie, Caroline, Jeremy, or Damon ever again, and you are going to stay here all night tonight and not return to your house until Damon tells you that you can return home tomorrow afternoon."

Bonnie and the rest of them naturally wonder about that last bit while she repeats the words and he releases her, but as usual, Kol has a grand plan. 

Elena walks up to her brother, who's shaking.  He’s not sure if it's from anger or fear, and Bonnie doesn't know either. 

Bonnie grabs his hand and squeezes while Elena releases all her compulsions then she seems to snap out of it and asks, "What the hell?"

Jeremy snaps back, and with a quickly reddening face, he asks her, "Exactly, what the hell gave you the right to compel me?  I gave up my freaking arms to save everyone including _you_ , and you fucking compelled me into allowing you to neglect me?  I'm your brother, Elena.  You're supposed to protect me from shit like that not be the one doing it to me!"

The bratty baby vampire frowns and tells him with just as much bitter heat in her voice, "It's your fault I can't get The Cure, yours and Bonnie's, so why should I have to help you.  I'm a vampire because of you two."

Bonnie puts her hand on Jeremy’s shoulder and tells her ex-friend, "We've been through this.  Esther, Meredith, and Stefan are to blame for you becoming a vampire, and no one is to blame for you staying a vampire, that's life.  Once you're a vampire you're always going to be a vampire, there is no alternative, and trying to find an alternative would have gotten everyone you used to claim you love dead, including Jeremy by your own freaking hand!  I… I… since when are you such a bitch?"

Elena bites out, "Since you fucked up my life by interfering where you didn't belong." 

My grandbaby reacts, without thinking, and her hand reaches out and slaps Elena's cheek.  Her other hand rises to her open mouth while she just stands there staring at Elena’s shocked face. 

The urge to move between them in case Elena tries to harm Bonnie is strong for all the older vampires in the room, but they all know that Kol's previous compulsion, or in the case of Damon, the one just now, will keep her from attacking Bonnie. 

A moment later, Bonnie bursts into tears.

Kol has her in his arms a second later and says, "Damon, I expect when she signs those papers that you will fax a copy of them to the number on the papers and then mail the hard copies to the address that will also be on the papers."

Damon nods and says, "I'll also call Bonnie and let her know that they're on their way."

Damon looks at my bawling granddaughter and says, "I'm sorry, Bonnie, I—"

She interrupts him, "It's not your fault.  You didn't mistreat one of my best friends and then try to sabotage our relationship knowing doing so would hurt both of us.  That falls on Elena, whom if I never see her again, it'll still be too soon.  Kol are we done?  I need not to be here."

He nods and says, "Jeremy, you can stay with us if you like until we leave, and because Elena is staying here tonight, we can go to your house now and pack your things and then teleport everything you don't need for the next week to the house in New Orleans."

Jeremy nods and begins walking to the door.  Damon hands him a box and some money while Kol sweeps Bonnie up into his arms and when she looks at him funny he says, "You're in no condition to walk through the woods in the middle of the night, even if you will heal from any injury you might receive."

Kol leads them out of the house and into the woods before, still sniffling, she nods and reaches up and kisses his cheek, "Thank you, Sparkle Pants."

They both smile when he tells her, "Well, I suppose I should be happy you waited until we are in the woods to call me that instead of doing it in front of Damon."

She giggles while he opens the passenger side door, and he puts Bonnie in her seat.

When Jeremy gets in, Kol asks, "Your house, Jeremy?"

He nods, "Yes, I don't really want to see my sister either, so yeah while she's stuck here we should move my crap."

Kol shuts Bonnie's door and walks around to the driver's side. 

His sister gets in behind him while fiddling with her phone.  The blonde vampire thinks, _'I know it's in here somewhere.  I intentionally got the number off Nik's phone.  Ahh, there it is.'_  

She texts the number, "Bonnie and Jer could use a friend who has shared history with them.  If you can, meet us at the Gilbert's house in ten.  -'Bekah."

They don't talk on the ride to Jeremy’s house, and when they arrive, Caroline is sitting on the front stoop just like Rebekah had hoped she would be.

When my baby girl gets out of the car, Caroline speeds over to her and asks, "You've been crying.  What's going on?"

Bonnie wipes at her eyes and asks her friend, "Caroline, what are you doing here?"

She smiles and tells them, "Um, 'Bekah texted me and suggested you and Jer might need a friend."

Jeremy smiles and says, "'Bekah, is it?  We had you and Kol, so there are two friends, but never let it be said that I turned down the opportunity to get one of Caroline Forbes' hugs.  You shouldn't either if she ever offers because they're world class."

He pulls Caroline into one of her famous hugs before Rebekah smiles and says, "I'll keep that in mind, and I wasn't suggesting that we're not your friends, but I figured the companionship of a longtime friend after being betrayed might be a little more comforting than the companionship of two people you really only just met."

She makes a fair point, so he smiles and tells her, "Okay, just so we're clear I consider you and Kol friends, so thank you for looking out for us, and Kol thank you times a million for compelling Elena."

Caroline gasps and asks, "Uh, why did he compel your sister?"

While they walk up to the house, he explains everything that has happened this evening, and when he opens the door, he pauses his story only long enough to say, "'Bekah, please come into my home." 

Jeremy and I both smile at the thought of the fit Elena will have when she finds out that three of the Mikaelson's now have invites.   He stops walking and then smiling evilly says, "Niklaus Mikaelson, please come into my home, and on the off chance that Finn will need an invite once we find that spell, Finn Mikaelson, please come into my house, too."

Everyone stops mid-step to look at him with wide eyes and then Kol and Rebekah smile obviously understanding that he's pissing in his sister's Wheaties, as the saying goes. 

Bonnie giggles and so does Caroline who pats him on the shoulder.  He nods then he goes right back to explaining what a bitch Elena has been.

When he's done with his story, Jeremy looks at Caroline and says, "I bet if you ask Klaus nicely he'll take his compulsion off you.  Then I can share the Vervain Damon gave me.  Though, honestly, I doubt any of the Mikaelsons will try to compel either of us."

Caroline smiles and says, "I might just ask him to remove the compulsion, but I'm 99.999% sure they won't try to compel me, so I don't think I'll really need the Vervain but thank you for offering."

The two originals both smile big at her words and the reminder that she hates definitive statements.  A moment later they head up to Jeremy's room so that he can pack.

When they enter his room, he looks at Kol and asks, "Kol, do you mind helping me get the empty boxes out of the attic?"

The vampire in question shakes his head and tells him, "Lead the way."

Smiling, Jeremy goes back out into the hallway before pulling on the cord hanging from the ceiling.  After he's drawn the stairs down, Kol follows him up the steps. 

Jeremy leads him to the corner where the folded up moving boxes lie against the wall.  Jeremy stands there staring at the pile for a minute then he turns his head and glances at Kol over his shoulder and says softly, "I just want to thank you for compelling Elena.  I don't have words for how grateful I am."

Kol smiles and tells him honestly, "I'm partly how she had the opportunity to compel you in the first place so in that sense it was my responsibility to right that wrong.  But other than that, that's what friends are for Jer.  I know we met because Nik sent me to keep an eye on you, but I wasn't lying about the offer of my friendship.  I genuinely like you, and if you can overlook why we met, then I'll overlook that you tried to help your sister kill me, and I think we'll be friends for the remainder of your years on this earth."

Jeremy smiles and nods but Kol’s not done so Jeremy’s eyes widen when he says, "And while we're on the subject, let me just put out there that I think even at this point right now I'd miss you if you were gone.  I want you to know that other than the witches I've taught there haven't been very many people in my thousand plus years that I could say that about, so you're on a very short list.  I think my sister and Elijah genuinely like you and consider you their friend, too.  Nik hopes to earn your friendship down the line, too, after he's figured out a way to make up for all the shit he did to you and your friends and family.  Therefore, I'm certain that Bonnie and Caroline will not be the only members of our family that will miss you when you're gone.  Which if you ever want to transition, just say the word."

Jeremy is smiling until Kol gets to the part about him transitioning.  That really never occurred to Jeremy, so he sort of half frowns and half smiles before he asks, "You'd seriously give me your blood with the intent of turning me?"

Kol smiles gently at him.  Then he pauses while he gathers his words so that he can adequately explain where the offer comes from.  Still grinning, Kol says, "Even overlooking everything I just said about missing you when you're gone, Bonnie is the love of my life, and Caroline will likely be my youngest sister if Nik gets his way, and they will both feel your loss deeply.  It'll take them years at the earliest to get to the point where the memory of you won't magnify the loss they feel by your absence.  If I can make them not have to hurt in that way and get to keep my friend by my side for all of eternity, then I'd be an idiot not to offer at least.  If you'd agree I'd start giving you my blood every day just to be safe because New Orleans really is teeming with our enemies, who will likely see you as an easy target."

Kol pauses, and Jeremy nods before Kol continues, "Best case scenario you'd probably want to wait until you are a little older, 18 or 19 at least before we'd go freezing you forever, but I know I'll rest easier if you're taking my blood every day as a precaution.  You’d be weaker than my family, like Caroline and the Salvatores, but still infinitely stronger and safer than you’d be while human and of course your life expectancy would increase dramatically."

Jeremy shows how thoughtful and caring he is towards others when he overlooks what becoming a vampire would mean for himself and instead asks, "Is there any way to make Caroline stronger?"

Kol smiles and nodding, tells him, "She could do the same spell I did with Bonnie.  I mentioned it to Nik while I was working on it, and he's willing to link himself to her if she is willing to be with him and only him for the rest of eternity.  We both figure it'll probably be a bit of work on Nik's part to convince her that he's worthy of her, but I have faith he'll manage."

Jeremy laughs and says, "I honestly don't think he'll have to work as hard as you think."

Kol chuckles and Jeremy tilts his head at him with a frown on his face because the original's eyes are slightly unfocused. 

Kol focuses back on him a second later, and at his questioning look, Kol tells him.  "Sorry, Caroline heard you and said, 'Hey I heard that, and I might resemble that remark.'"

Jeremy chuckles and says, "I keep forgetting that I'm surrounded by people who can hear an ant fart from a mile away."

Kol laughs at that before Jeremy tells him, "You'd think after several months of living with a vampire I'd have gotten used to the super hearing by now, but I really do keep forgetting."

Jeremy laughs just before Kol tells him, "It does take some adjustment getting used to the lack of secrets in this family, but I think you'll manage just fine."

Jeremy smiles and tells him, "If you say so." 

They lapse into silence and Jeremy thinks over what the vampire said before they got on the topic of Caroline, _'Do I want to drink his blood?  Honestly, it's kind of gross, but everyone I care about is going to live forever, so if I want to keep them from having to suffer the loss of me eventually, then I should accept his offer and drink his blood.  Plus, living forever would be cool.  I hope I'll be more like Caroline and less like Stefan and Elena.'_  

Decision made, he smiles and then tells Kol, "I wouldn't be opposed to drinking your blood if you think it's necessary to protect me but only if Bonnie doesn't object to it being your blood specifically."

Kol smiles widely and tells him, "I don't think she'll take issue with it, but we can ask."

He cocks his head, and Jeremy guesses that Bonnie has chosen that moment to give her opinion.  A moment later, Kol tells him, "She doesn't object, in fact, she said she definitely doesn't object to taking measures to protect you.  If you're willing to allow me to feed you my blood, then she's okay with that."

Smiling, Jeremy says, "Thanks, Bon.  So, yeah, I'm willing."

Kol nods and lifts his wrist to his mouth before biting into it and then presenting Jeremy with the wound. 

He looks at Kol for a split second, and then he grabs the other man's bleeding arm and brings his lips to Kol's wrist. 

While he sucks the blood from Kol’s vein, the original tells him, "Keep drinking until the wound closes and then I'll repeat until you've drunk at least three times."

Jeremy almost pulls away to ask why so much but Kol lays his other hand on the back of Jeremy's head, so he gets the point and keeps drinking before Kol tells him, "The more of my blood that's in your system if you die the stronger you'll be from the start.  Plus, a little-known fact is that the age of your sire affects your strength, speed, senses, and other powers so you'd start out with the same level as me and that effect is even truer the more of my blood that’s in your system when you die.  Based on what I know of how Caroline transitioned I believe the enormous amount of Damon's blood that he fed her to heal her injuries, coupled with his age at the time, is partly to blame for her substantial control over her bloodlust."

Jeremy thinks, _'Oh, I didn't know that.'_   Kol's not done either, so when his wound closes, he takes his arm back and bites it again before giving it back to Jeremy.

He goes back to drinking while Kol tells him, "If Bonnie is right, when Caroline finished the transition she managed not to kill her meal, which in normal circumstances where someone wakes in transition without someone there to guide them is completely unheard of.  I know you'd beat yourself up if you accidentally killed someone, so I want you to always take as much as possible so we can avoid that if possible."

Kol lapses into silence while Jeremy continues drinking.  The wound closes a few minutes later, so Kol bites his wrist one more time and Jeremy drinks again.  When his wound heals once more, he pulls away and nods when Jeremy wipes his mouth with his hand before Jeremy says, "Thanks, I appreciate that."

Kol smiles and says honestly, "The idea is to preserve you as you are, not turn you into a monster.  Most vampires don't get that option, but if I can give that to you, then I will."

Jeremy smiles and says, "Thank you for that, Kol.  I appreciate your attentiveness to how I would feel about killing someone."

Kol nods back and then grabs a good portion of the pile of boxes before he heads to the stairs and then walks down them.  Jeremy follows him with his own collection and they get to packing his things.

About thirty minutes later, my grandbaby calls her father and tells him, "Dad, I'm going to sleep over at Beks' house tonight because neither of us has school tomorrow.  Okay?" 

The formerly violent ass seems slightly suspicious, even asking, "Mhmm, will Beks older brother be in attendance?"

Bonnie laughs and tells him, "He lives there, so I'm sure he will be."

My ex-son-in-law pauses and then says, "Okay, thank you for calling and letting me know not to worry."

She smiles and says, "Yeah sure, love you."

The undeserving man says, "I love you too, Bonnie.  Have a good night," and then they hang up. 

I snort and say to no one in particular, "If he actually loved her he wouldn't have spent the overwhelming majority of her life beating her into submission anytime she displeased him or reminded him of my selfish daughter."

Freya, Finn, and Henrik spent the majority of today searching the Otherside for some of Kol’s friends from his time in Haiti to see if they can help us narrow down which books the spells we’re looking for might be in. 

They only just arrived back here a few minutes ago, so they haven’t told us what they’ve discovered, but at my words, Finn and Henri nod, and surprisingly so does Jeremy who says, "I hear you, Ms. Bennett.  The guy's an ass any way you look at him."

Everyone turns their eyes to look at Jeremy, so he blushes and shrugs before saying, "What?  Ms. Bennett was the only one here until a few minutes ago, and she was silent all night, so I haven't had to listen to two conversations at once, but don't forget you all only see five of us in the room, but I currently see nine of us."

They all nod and Bonnie asks, "Grams thinks dad's an ass?"

Jeremy smiles gently and says, "No, that was my word.  She thinks if he loved you the way he's supposed to, then he wouldn't have spent your whole life hitting you."

Her eyes widen, but then she nods and says, "I sort of agree, but he's my dad, and I can't help but love him, even if he doesn't deserve it.  If he was gone all my life like Abby, it might be easier like it is with her to not love him, but he was always there, and I can admit I'm sort of twisted around when it comes to him."

Jeremy puts down the art book he was about to put in a box and moves to her before hugging her and telling her, "It doesn't matter now because he'll never hurt you again and Kol and the rest of us will protect you from anyone who wants to hurt you."

She snuggles into the hug and says, "Thank you."

He drops a kiss to the crown of her head and then steps back with a smile on his face.

Caroline sensing that they need to change the subject before her friend starts crying asks, "Uh, 'Bekah and Kol, would you guys mind if I come to New Orleans, too?  Your brother invited me, but I don't—"

Rebekah interrupts telling her new friend, "Of course we don't mind.  I'll get a second girlfriend, and Nik will be ecstatic that you're coming."

Caroline nods and says, "Okay, then I'm coming, too."

They all nod before Rebekah asks, "Do you want to sleep over tonight, too?"

Caroline smiles and tells her, "I totally would, but I think I should go home and tell my mom I'm moving and dropping out of school to get my GED before she hears it from someone else.  Otherwise, I'd totally take you up on that offer.  I'll come by your house tomorrow morning, though, if you want.  Jer, Bonnie, and I can cook you guys some breakfast."

They all nod and go back to packing all of Jeremy's things only pausing when Kol seems to have a brain fart.  He stops what he's doing and looks at Jeremy for a second before he asks him, "Jer, would you mind if I compel you to be completely resistant to compulsions regardless of how old the vampire might be?  You wouldn't even need to take Vervain, so although I'm sure you'll want to continue taking it, it won't be necessary, and if someone captures you and tries to wait until the Vervain leaves your system, their compulsion still won't work."

Jeremy stops what he's doing and looks at his older friend with wide eyes before asking, "Will that work and like override anyone else's compulsion?"

Kol and Rebekah nod and Kol tells them all, "It should.  I did something remarkably similar to a few friends a few hundred years ago when we were still running from Mikael.  He had to resort to having witches use magick to get his way."

Bonnie's eyes widened when she realizes he's talking about Chalina and her sister at the very least.  Jeremy realizes her look means that she knows the rest of the story that Kol isn't telling them, so he looks at her for a minute and she nods obviously understanding that he wants to know if the rest of the story she knows lines up with what Kol is telling him now.  Her nod tells him it should work like he says, so Jeremy nods back and says, "Then do it."

Jeremy shifts from foot to foot.  Kol steps up to him and smiles gently before he looks him in the eyes, and after grabbing hold of his mind, Kol tells him, "From this moment forward and until I tell you otherwise you will completely and wholly resist any and all future compulsions by anyone other than me, Bonnie, Caroline, or my siblings regardless of how much or how little Vervain is in your system or that person's species and means of compulsion."

Jeremy repeats what Kol said before Kol breaks the connection and pats Jeremy's shoulder telling him, "There that should keep any of our enemies from being able to compel you for their own purposes even if they capture you and wait for the Vervain to leave your body."

Jeremy opens his mouth, and the scowl on his face tells Kol what he's going to say.  Kol holds up his hand and says, "Before you get angry about the loophole I left allowing my family to compel you, I wanted to make sure that if another situation arises where we need to limit your pain or something similar that it will still be possible.  I give you my word as a Mikaelson that I won't compel you again without your prior consent and even with your consent only if it will ultimately help or protect you or your loved ones."

Rebekah adds, "I promise, too.  I won't take advantage and will only use the loophole if there is no other way to protect you and even then, I would warn you I was going to do it and not do it if you object."

Okay, that actually makes sense to Jeremy, Bonnie, and Caroline, and call him crazy, but Jeremy believes that none of the Mikaelsons will abuse the loophole.  He thinks even Niklaus won’t exploit it because he knows Bonnie would probably do something hysterically funny like cursing the hybrid to be nice for the rest of eternity if he tried. 

They all nod before Jeremy says, "Okay, thank you.  I trust you both to keep those promises.  Don't make me regret that decision."

They nod back and tell him in unison, "We won't," and then they once again return to helping him pack his things.

Three hours later they've packed and teleported everything except a week’s worth of clothes, Jeremy's laptop, and some of his art supplies that he's missed using while he had no arms. 

After they put his suitcase and backpack with his laptop and art supplies into the back of the SUV and they all hug Caroline goodnight, Freya, Finn, Henri, and I think ourselves into the back of Niklaus' SUV.  Rebekah, Bonnie, Kol, and Jeremy get into the car, and we drive back to The Mikaelson Mansion. 

Henri, who is ever anxious to be seen by his siblings, spends the whole car ride back to the Mikaelson's house pestering Jeremy, so when Kol pulls into the driveway the exasperated teen frowns in the back seat and asks, "Uh, any chance we can look through more of your books?  Henrik would prefer we find the spells before we head to New Orleans."

Frowning, Kol looks at his young friend through the rear-view mirror after he puts the car into park and asks him, "Is trouble brewing or is he just being impatient?"

Henri snorts at that and mutters under his breath causing Jeremy to laugh and tell the original, "He says, 'Coming from the king of impatient Mikaelsons that's rich,' but he doesn't know of any specific trouble."

Henri smiles but tells Jeremy, "My gut says the spells need to be in place sooner rather than later, though."

Jeremy repeats his words, so Kol nods and tells them all, "Then in that case, if you all aren't too tired, we can read some more until you need to go to bed."

All three of them nod, so after they get out of the truck, Kol goes to the trunk and takes out Jeremy’s two bags before leading them all into the house.  They follow him up the stairs to the room all of Jeremy's family books are in. 

Kol opens the door and tells Jeremy, "This way you'll have access to all your family books just the same as the rest of us.  Do you remember which room mine is?"

Jeremy nods and says, "Yeah, why?"

Kol smiles and tells him, "Then unpack and get settled and then come and find us in my room when you're ready."

Jeremy grins and nods, so after Kol puts his suitcase on the stand inside the walk-in closet, he turns and leaves Jeremy and Bonnie alone. 

Bonnie waits until the door closes and then asks Jeremy, "If you want some time alone I understand, but if you want a shoulder to cry on, mine is available."

He chuckles and tells her, "I don't want to be alone, but I also don't feel like crying.  For now, she's dead to me, so I'm in the seven stages of grief, the first of which is shock, so I'm not sad just yet.  Eventually, I will take you up on that offer, though, because Elena pretty much killed our relationship.  I mean even if Kol hadn't compelled me into avoiding Vervain she knowingly and willfully compelled me knowing full well I'd object.  That much is obvious by the fact that she also compelled me to forget she compelled me in the first place.  So as much as I know this will bother you, I have no plans currently to try and forgive her."

The bed springs creak ever so slightly when my granddaughter sits on the bed and then pats the spot beside her and says, "Well, like you said you're at the first stage of grief.  When you get to number seven, then you can decide if you want to try to make-up with her.  Making that decision any sooner is pointless because you might change your mind in the end."

The bed creaks again when he sits and says, "You're right."

She laughs and says, "Of course I am because I know everything."

Jeremy laughs, too, and tells her, "Careful, you might be spending too much time with Kol because that sounds more like him than you."

She giggles and tells him, "No such thing as _too much_ time with Kol."

I'm sure Kol is smiling at that while he leads his sister to his room and heads into his study.  I decide to give Jeremy and Bonnie some privacy because he can tell that I'm present, so I think myself to Kol's study where the vampire grabs the book he read halfway through last night off his desk and then sits down in one of the leather chairs in the corner of his study. 

A moment later Rebekah whispers The Teleportation Spell and the other two chairs from her brother's bedroom appear beside the other two so that all four of them will have a seat.

The two originals have been reading for about ten minutes when Bonnie and Jeremy stop talking and unpacking and come and join them in the study.  I look up from Kol's book that I'm reading over his shoulder before he tells them with a smile of his own on his face, "I left the books you two were reading where you left them."

They smile and nod before picking up their books and joining the Mikaelsons in their seats. 

Just over two hours later when Kol is seriously considering giving up for the night, Bonnie looks up from her book and asks, "Uh, Kol, is this what we're looking for?  There's another spell on the next page that makes me think it’s exactly what we're looking for, but both spells seem dark to me."

She hands him the book, and he reads the first spell and then the second and his stomach drops because these two spells would do what they want, but Bonnie is correct they are both very dark.  "Jer, can you ask Henri if these are the spells he's talking about because Bonnie is right, these are dark spells, and I don't think it would be wise to perform them."

Jeremy gets up and he and the ghost come and read over Kol’s shoulder while Jeremy nods.  Henri smiles and says, "No those aren't the ones.  The author wrote the ones I mean in response to these two spells as non-dark alternatives.  You should keep reading in this book and if the alternates aren't in this one, then read everything else by this author first because I think what we need will be in one of her books."

Jeremy repeats Henri’s words prompting Kol to nod and let out a sigh of air while he thinks, _'Thank God, those aren't the spells we've been looking for.'_

Kol hands the book back to Bonnie who smiles reassuringly at him and kisses his cheek before saying, "Don't worry Sparkle Pants.  Even if we don't find a non-dark solution in these books, I think between you, Beks, Elijah, Nik, Finn, Henrik, Freya, Grams, and me we can come up with something that will do what we want without upsetting the balance.  I mean if you figured out how to make me immortal without using a dark spell then we can make a ghost visible and possibly corporeal."

He nods and leans over and kisses her lips quickly before saying, "You're right, I know you are.  I just really want to be able to hug my brother."

Henri mutters, "He just wants to mess up my hair like he used to."

Jeremy laughs at that, and when Kol turns and looks at him, he tells him with a smile on his face, "Sorry, Henrik, here, is worried about you messing up his hair.  Apparently, that was your thing or something?"

Kol laughs and explains while Rebekah smiles, "Yes, I'd hug him and then mess up his hair when I pulled away.  Henri if I promise not to mess your hair, will you hug me?"

Henri nods eagerly and says, "Yes, I'll hug him even if he insists on messing up my hair."

Jeremy is still smiling while he tells everyone what Henri said.

Kol smiles and nods and then the rest of them abandon their books and pick up books by Nadège and begin looking for the alternate spells.

Thirty minutes later Jeremy yawns but then smiles and asks, "Uh, I might have found them.  Do these look right, Kol?"

He hands Kol the book and the original quickly reads the ingredient list and smiles wider because none of the ingredients send up red flags.  He continues reading and then when he finishes reviewing the spell he grins and tells them what I already know, "This is definitely it, and nothing about this spell seems dark to me." 

He flips to the next two pages and reads the second spell and then nodding tells them all, "We can definitely do both without risking upsetting the balance.  Henri, do these look like the ones you were thinking of?"

We wait while he reads them, and then a minute later, he breaks out into dance.  Jeremy smiles widely and tells Kol, "He's literally doing a happy dance because those are totally the ones he was thinking of."

Rebekah holds out her hand, so Kol hands the book to her.  While she reads she bounces her knees and then she looks up and asks, "Kol, when can we do these?  I'm not too tired to do them now, but I think it'll work better if you, me, and Bonnie combine power to make us each less likely to be super tired afterward, especially if we're doing it on three ghosts instead of one."

Rebekah hands the book to my granddaughter who reads and then smiling even broader says, "I'm not too tired, but I'll leave the ultimate decision up to you, Kol, because you're the expert on all things magickal."

He laughs, and when they both look at him expectantly, he tells them, "I see no reason why we can't do these right now.  I mean, if we had somewhere to be tomorrow, then that'd be different, but so far as I know, we have no solid plans requiring us to be anywhere at a specific time."

Everyone nods so Bonnie hops up out of her chair and whispers the words to The Teleportation Spell Rebekah tweaked last night, and the books other than the one in her hand all return themselves to their original locations.  She puts the book down on the table and then goes about collecting the necessary ingredients, which they will use for both spells because the second spell is meant to be performed immediately after the first.  When she gets to the bit about the blood of a relative she turns and tells us, "I think you both should contribute nine drops of blood."

I tend to agree, and so does Kol who nods before they both hold out their hands and let her prick their fingers before she squeezes nine drops out of each of them.  She repeats on her own finger and then when she's done with that part she turns and looks at Jeremy and tells him, "Uh, I need nine drops from you too because you're the resident ghost whisperer."

He nods so she pricks his finger too and drops nine drops of his blood into the bowl.  After that, she goes out into Kol's room and returns with two brushes in her hand.  Grinning she tells us, "I need hair from everyone who's going to be seeing and touching the ghosts.  I’ve got my brush and Caroline's, which she left in my car the other day, and I put in my purse so I could give it back to her, and I keep forgetting to do that.  Guess now I know why."

We all laugh, and Rebekah leaves the room and then comes back with Elijah and Niklaus' hair brushes.  Bonnie carefully removes hair from each brush, and then the rest of them all pluck a few strands of hair off their heads and hand them to her.  She smiles while she adds the hair to the potion and then looks up from what she's doing a minute later and asks, "Kol, Beks, Jer, Caroline, Nik, Elijah, and me… am I missing anybody?"

We all shake our heads no, so she picks up the bowl and grabs the package of matches off the table where she put them earlier, and then she says, "Okay we need to take this to the Circle outside because it needs to be done under the light of the Waxing or Waning Moon."

Jeremy frowns and asks, "Uh what does that mean?  I mean, I know what the words mean but isn't that always?"

Bonnie smiles and shakes her head before she tells him, "No, the moon is neither Waxing nor Waning if it's Full or New so basically it's saying it needs to be between the time of New and Full in either direction.  Ideally, I'd prefer to do it when it's Waxing not to mention a little farther away from the Full Moon, but I tend to agree with Henrik that it needs to be done sooner rather than later and Waxing doesn't occur for another 15 nights."

All the witches in the room, Vampire and ghost alike, nod and so does Jeremy who says, "Oh okay.  Lead the way then."

Kol grabs the salt while Rebekah takes the book with the spells in it, and we all head out of the original's room and down the back stairs to the kitchen and then out the back door. 

Rebekah is practically vibrating while she's bouncing on her toes, too, so I'm not surprised when she says, "I'm so excited!"

Kol laughs and tells her, "Really?  We couldn't tell.  I mean, it's not like you're bouncing in place or anything."

Bonnie and Rebekah both giggle at that while Rebekah sticks her tongue out at him before she says, "Oh hush, you.  We both know you're just as excited.  You're just hiding it better."

He smiles and nods because he really is excited.  However, I think he's also worried it won't work because Bonnie was correct.  Waxing would be much better.  There is also a small chance it won't work because usually spells that require the Full Moon work on the night of the Full Moon as well as the nights before and after.  The Full Moon was last night so the Universe might still consider this the Full Moon.  Both facts have his muscles tight because there is a genuine chance we'll have to wait until after The New Moon to try it again.

Kol smiles and says, "Freya, as much as I want to see you and touch you on this side of the veil I'm not sure what doing these two spells would do to your ability to wake when your century of sleep ends.  Ultimately I'll leave the decision up to you."

Freya smiles sadly and tells Jeremy, "I think I need to sit this one out.  You, Finn, Sheila, and Henri should still be able to see me so I won't be completely alone, but I'm unwilling to risk never waking up.  Niklaus' child will need protecting from Dahlia, and at this point, I'm the most knowledgeable when it comes to her.  Our magick levels are high enough that I figure we’ll be waking sometime this year, which means once she discovers that the little wolf is pregnant with Niklaus’ child the baby will be at risk.”

She shakes her head and says, “The good news is that so far as I can tell she doesn't go to The Otherside while sleeping.  I did a spell just before I went to sleep the first time in the hopes of temporarily reuniting for a time with my siblings.  That was before I knew they were immortal.  Anyway, that’s what sends me to the Otherside every time I sleep.  I don't believe Dahlia knows I did that spell or how I spend the time I'm asleep, which means she's wholly unaware that I am cognizant of what’s happening in the world while I'm tucked away in our magickal sleep.”

Jeremy nods so she says, “That should work in our favor, and I hope it will allow me to discover her plans before she has a chance to kidnap the child, however, she knows I’m not loyal to her so we might need to come up with another angle.  Either way, I’m unwilling to risk not waking up.  Though, tell Kol that if he can find a way to remove her link to and control over my magick that will be a huge help."

Jeremy still nods while she speaks and then repeats her words.  The Mikaelson's all frown that Freya won't participate, but they all agree that it's for the best. 

Kol tells her, “I will begin looking into the link between both of you as soon as we get to New Orleans.”

Freya just says, “Thank you.”

After Jeremy relays that message, Kol grins and says, “You’re family Freya, even though weren’t raised together.  I will do whatever necessary to help my family, you included.  Well, other than dark magick, but I’ll do anything else.”

Freya smiles softly and says, “Please tell him I love him for including me.”

Jeremy relays that message, too, and Kol grins and says, “Always and forever, Freya.”

She repeats the oath, and Jeremy just says, “She said it back to you with her hand over her heart.”

Kol nods once, sharply, and then hands Bonnie the salt and she draws the circle around all four of them and us three ghosts.  She smiles at Jeremy and tells him, "Jer, I need you to stand just inside the circle over there because you can currently see them."

He nods and moves to where she directed him and then Rebekah gently places the book on the ground in front of her while Bonnie places the bowl on the ground next to it.  All three of the living witches kneel, and then my granddaughter calls on the four corners before tossing a lit match into the bowl the potion is in.  Grabbing hands, the three of them whisper the words to the first spell, and then they chant the last line nine times before wind blows over us, and they look up into three wide yet incredibly pleased sets of eyes.  Henri is bouncing just as much as his sister had been, but Finn and I are reserved as always while we slowly become visible.

As soon as we're visible, they begin whispering the words to the second spell, and a glow surrounds Freya and the three of us, despite her being outside the circle before it pulses 27 times and then absorbs into us.  As soon as the spell is over Freya disappears and Rebekah is up off her knees and hugging the daylights out of Henrik while she says, "God, Henri, it's so good to see you and hold you."

Bonnie moves only slightly slower to hug me tight, whispering, "I've missed you so much, Grams."

I hug her close to me and softly say a small prayer, "Thank you, God, for giving us this gift."

Kol rises to his feet but stays back just watching his two siblings hug for the first time in almost 1,010 years.  A moment later he moves closer to Finn and wraps him in his arms, "Brother, I know I said it before, but I'm sorry I didn't realize what the bitch had done until it was too late."

Finn hugs him back and tells him, "I know, and as I said before, I forgive you.  It's really not your fault because we both know being revived from the dagger jumbles our brains for a while."

Kol seems reluctant to let go of his brother, so Finn pats him on the back and then steps back just in time to prevent them from toppling over when a blonde blur speeds over to them and hugs them both.

The three of them laugh before Henri pouts and says, "I feel left out."

Kol laughs and holds out his arm for his youngest brother to join the group hug.  Henri wastes no time in darting over to his siblings and slams into them hugging them tightly. 

While Kol wraps his arm around his younger brother, he says a silent prayer, _'Thank you, Jesus, for bestowing this gift upon our family.'_


	22. Just Squeeze

**______________________________________________________________________________**

**Chapter 022**

**Just Squeeze**

**______________________________________________________________________________**

**Friday, January 21, 2011, 7:00 a.m.**

**The Den in the Mikaelson Mansion**

**______________________________________________________________________________**

Rebekah and Jeremy woke up very early.  Us ghosts still don't sleep so we mostly just sat and talked all night about how excited we are to be visible and corporeal again.  Finn and I speculated about where Freya disappeared to, but my gut says she's okay and that whatever happened to her is what was supposed to happen and will ultimately help our family in the long run.

When Rebekah wakes up we experiment.  We can turn ourselves invisible and essentially return to The Otherside at will, and we can still hear the thoughts of those who aren't ghosts regardless of whether we are visible to the living or not.  We can touch anything we want, though, if we want to and when Caroline arrives just after 8 a.m. Rebekah shows her to the den and her jaw drops when she sees us ghosts just sitting on the couches with Jeremy.

I get a warm hug from Caroline who whispers to me, "It's so good to see you, Grams."

I smile and kiss her cheek before telling her, "It's good to be seen.  Now what has you here so early?  Is everything okay?"

She smiles and tells us, "Everything is perfect.  I woke up early enough to go to school before it started and inform Mr. McMahon that I'm also dropping out to get my GED.  To say he was surprised is an understatement.  He made a comment about the top and third ranked students in our class dropping out together."

Jeremy frowns and asks, "You and Bonnie are first and third in your class and you're both okay with dropping out?  I mean which of you is number one?"

Caroline smiles and says, "I'm number one, Tommy Dorsett is number two by .002 and then Bonnie is number three by .001.  And really, I already sent out all of my applications including to three schools in the New Orleans area so they already know I'm ranked number one, so it doesn't really matter at this point.  All that matters is that I actually get my GED before classes start for the fall semester."

He smiles and asks, "Didn't you, Bonnie, and Elena apply to all the same schools?"

She nods and says, "I'm not sure if Elena actually handed hers in yet but I know Bonnie and I both had the applications filled out and handed in before Thanksgiving for early decision.  I do know Elena missed the deadline for early decision because she bitched about it for weeks, but in her defense I probably wouldn't have made the deadline either if I had transitioned a month before everything was due."

She sits down and then says, "Anyway, we should find out in the next week or so if we got in to all the schools, but given our records I'll be very surprised if either of us actually doesn't get into all the schools we applied to."

I smile and tell her, "Your mother must be very proud.  I know I am incredibly proud of Bonnie."

She nods and then hesitantly asks, "Uh I know technically he was human when he died, but did you see my dad when he died?"

I get up and move to sit beside her.  I hug her and tell her, "No baby.  I'm pretty sure he found peace and went to heaven."

She nods but holds on tight for a minute.  Then she pulls back and dabs at her eyes with the tissue Rebekah hands her.  She says, "Thank you."

Rebekah just smiles and returns to her seat.  Jeremy frowns a moment later and asks, "I saw him a few times right after he died but how come Ric isn't around?"

Finn leans forward on his seat and places his elbows on his knees before he says, "Alaric has been keeping an eye on Esther.  She knows I'm currently angry with her, so she's been giving me a wide birth.  Right after he died she approached him, and he has been helping her with her plans to be brought back.  He visits with us every now and then, pretending to be collecting intelligence for her.  He says her current plan is for her, Alaric and myself to be resurrected so that we can all work together on killing my siblings.  He and I have both vowed to each other that whoever gets the first shot will rip her heart out.  We hope we'll be able to do it before she has a chance to compel either of us again into hunting my siblings.  We figured out that Alaric's murdering issues were actually a result of a witch compulsion that forced his dark aspect, which everyone has inside them, to the forefront.  She basically forced him to turn off his switch even before he became a vampire.  Then she apparently compelled him again once he finished the transition because his death would have undone the original compulsion.  So that is why he has not visited with you because he's pretending he's on board mother's 'kill all vampires' bandwagon.  Our plan currently is to let her resurrect us, because we wouldn't be able to stop her anyway and then kill her before she can do any damage.  We're fairly certain that if he comes back to life he will no longer be tied to Ms. Gilbert because she already died."

I add, "Esther would have to retie them together after Alaric returns in order for him to die when Elena dies.  He knows her plans though and Chalina and Josefina have been watching too and they're all fairly confident that she has no clue that Alaric plans to betray her or that Finn has plans to rip her heart out before she can utter the words of the compulsion for a third time."

Jeremy frowns and asks, "Wait so Finn, I was actually wondering this, but I figured Kol knew something we didn't, so your mom actually compelled you to help her kill your own siblings?"

He nods and says, "Exactly.  She also compelled my loyalty, which she had also done when I was human.  The first time she did it was to keep me quiet about the fact that she gave Freya to our aunt Dahlia.  Mikael and the siblings born after me were all told she died of the plague.  Obviously, she didn't but I was old enough to know that she hadn't actually died so Esther compelled my loyalty and silence.  This last time, however, was the most convenient way to kill all of us."

The teen nods and says, "That sucks man, well I'll help you guys defeat her in any way I can so just let me know if you think of something helpful I can do, okay?"

Finn smiles a genuine smile and says, "Thank you, Mr. Gilbert."

Jeremy chuckles and says, "I think you can call me Jeremy because I've pretty much adopted your family as my own at this point."

Caroline chimes in, "The same for me Finn, don't go thinking you have to call me Ms. Forbes.  Caroline will do because we're all as good as family so far as I'm concerned."

Jeremy nods and says, "What she said."

Finn and I laugh before Henrik adds, "I'm bored.  I've been sitting watching everyone else do stuff for 1,009 years.  I want to do something for a change."

Caroline smiles and says, "Well, correct me if I'm wrong but I believe Jer and I promised a cooking lesson so why don't we go make breakfast for everyone while we wait for Bonnie and Kol to wake up."

Everyone nods so we all stand and follow Caroline and Rebekah into the kitchen.

We're all in the kitchen having fun while Caroline, Jeremy and myself all teach the three individuals born before the turn of the last millennium how to cook a proper hole-in-the-bread egg.

Jeremy demonstrates what to do and then while he cooks the egg and the little piece of hole beside it he tells them all, "You want it to be runny, not hard."

Henri and Rebekah ask at the same time, "But why?  We always cooked our eggs fully."

Jer hold his finger up to indicate he needs a minute then he flips the egg and waits another minute or two before plating it and handing it to Rebekah, "Here try that."

Rebekah cuts into the bread egg concoction and then takes a bite before promptly moaning and saying, "Runny it is," which causes all of our companions to laugh because those of us who have tried it before agree.

Henrik pouts and says, "No fair.  I wish I could eat food."

Jeremy turns and looks at him and then at me and asks, "What's the worst case scenario if we let him try it?"

Henri bounces on his toes while I frown and consider before telling Jeremy, "I'm not sure.  I don't think it'll be anything too bad though, maybe just a mess, or possibly him throwing up and creating a mess."

Jeremy smiles at Henri and asks, "So Henri, you willing to risk maybe getting sick to see if you ghosts can eat human food?"

He smiles and bounces harder while nodding so Jeremy takes another fork and knife out of the drawer and cuts up Rebekah's egg a little more prompting her to pull her plate away from him and tell him, "Hey, I'm eating that."

He laughs and tells her, "I'll make you a new one, promise."

She nods and relinquishes her plate.  Jeremy finishes cutting a piece of egg and then puts it on the fork and carefully turns to Henrik.  He laughs again though says, "You need to stand still or it's going to fall on the floor and we don't want to waste it, or make a mess because I will make _you_ clean it up if _you_ make me drop it."

Henri nods and stops bouncing so Jeremy hands him the fork and Henrik sniffs at the food and then pops it into his mouth.  He moans a second later and begins chewing and then he swallows and says, "That is amazing!  What is it called again?"

Jeremy laughs again and says, "Who knew ghosts can eat people food?  And it's called a hole-in-the-bread egg.  I think some people also call them sunshine or sunrise eggs or something, but my family always called them hole-in-the-bread eggs.  They're a family favorite."

Henri smiles and says, "Beks, can I have this one and Jeremy can make you another one?"

Jeremy leans closer to her and says, "I'll make you two of them if you relinquish this one."

She grins and says, "You, my friend, have yourself a deal."

Jeremy smiles and nods and goes back to cooking before looking over his shoulder at Henri who is pouting and telling him, "Don't worry, Henri, I'll make you a second one too.  Elena's the only person I know who only eats one in a sitting.  Everyone else always has two."

Henri frowns and asks, "Is there something wrong with your sister?  How could anyone pass up two of these?"

Jeremy laughs and says, "The list of things wrong with my sister is far too long to get into this morning but sufficed to say she hasn't been right in the head for some time."

Henri just nods while he wolfs down his food.  Jeremy turns to Rebekah and asks, "You want to try making it this time so you know how and can make them anytime you want?"

She nods so she gets up and Jeremy supervises her making the egg.  A few minutes later Bonnie and Kol join us just when Jeremy is holding a plate for Rebekah while she puts two eggs on it and then she turns and hands it to Kol and says, "Here, I cooked it.  Tell me if it's any good."

Bonnie hugs me tightly while Kol smiles before he ruffles his younger brother's hair when he passes him, which prompts the ancient boy to say, "Koool, Stooop.  I just brushed it."

Kol laughs before he sits down but says nothing in response before picking up a fork and knife and cutting into the very runny egg/bread combination.  Jeremy tells him, "Make sure you sop up the yolk with the bread because that's the best part and kind of the whole point of eating one of these."

Kol nods and does as told and then smiles while he chews, "Beks, this is amazing."

Jer nods and says, "See, you need to trust the humans and recently turned vampire when it comes to these things because we do actually know a thing or two about modern food."

Kol nods and scoops up another bite.

Soon Rebekah has made enough for everyone including the three ghosts and we're all sitting and eating and after she takes a bite she says, "Hmm, you definitely know what you're talking about."

We smile and nod while we focus on eating our own food.  Jer pauses after chewing and turns to look at Rebekah before asking, "So we know Kol compelled pretty much everyone, me included but have you compelled any of us Beks?"

She shakes her head and tells us all, "Other than Damon on New Year’s Eve and Bonnie’s dad, no, but I knew what Kol was doing even if some of it was after the fact.  I will make a promise to all of you, though.  I won't compel any of you without your permission."

We all nod and Kol adds, "I know I already promised Jer but I make the same promise to all of you, not just him."

Caroline smiles and tells us all, "If I were you guys, I probably would have done the same thing.  In fact, I've wished a couple times these last few weeks that I could compel some common sense into our old friends, so because you both promise not to compel me again without my prior consent I'll forgive you, too."

Kol nods back and says, "Thank you, both of you for giving me a second chance to prove myself.  I know third chances are hard to come by so I won't waste this opportunity."

We all smile again and nod before we all go back to eating.  Henri has finished his two eggs and is busy tearing up a paper napkin into little pieces and then blowing the pieces towards his brother's plate.  Kol keeps scowling when a few pieces float into his food but he has a hard time keeping his smile from betraying him.

A few minutes later Bonnie turns and looks at Kol before she asks, "Do you want to come with me to my house and help me pack?"

He smiles but asks her, "Would you invite me if I didn't already have an invitation?"

She smiles and tells him honestly, "Actually if that was the case then I'd invite you in."

He sits up straight and puts his fork down on the table before he looks at her, "Bonnie…"

She smiles wider and nudges his leg with her foot, "I can feel you, Kol.  You honestly love me, and I can tell you would do everything in your power to protect me, not just from physical harm but emotional pain, too, as evidenced by the compulsions you placed on our friends, so I know without a doubt that you're not going to show up and kill my dad even if you do think he deserves it because you know it would hurt me, so I'd totally invite you in if necessary."

He frowns and says, "I had hoped you knew all of that, but thank you for the trust you have freely given to me."

She smiles widely and tells him, "You deserve it.  Without going into details I'd rather not talk about, you've protected me from physical harm and even healed me when you didn't have to, so I know you deserve my trust.  I know it without any doubt."

He smiles then and it reaches his eyes making them sparkle before he says, "Then in that case, yes, I'll come with you and help you pack."

Her smile gets impossibly bigger before she looks at Rebekah and asks, "Okay then, would you mind if I invite Beks along?"

He looks at his mate for a long minute then says, "I know 'Bekah would never hurt you, but are you sure you want to invite her into your house and take away that added level of security?"

Bonnie nods and looks at the girl in question before she says, "She's quickly become one of my best friends, and because I invited my other best friend in yesterday I figure it's only fair, and I'm just as certain she won't hurt me or my dad as I am that you won't hurt me or him, so…"

He nods then says, "Then I'll leave the decision up to you.  I just wanted to make sure you had really thought about it and weren't doing it as a reflexive reaction to Elena's behavior yesterday."

My granddaughter shakes her head and tells him, "It's not, I've actually been considering it for over a week now, and I also have been on the verge of inviting Caroline in.  Mostly I hadn't invited her in because she's so young, and I wanted to make sure she wouldn't lose control and hurt me or my dad by accident, but I know now that she's got it as under control as possible, so I'm having faith that she loves me more than any amount of anger she might feel."

He nods and so does Caroline but he tells her, "Um, I may have compelled all of your supernatural friends not to threaten or harm you ever again, so even though it's probably wholly unnecessary the compulsion should keep everyone but Caroline from trying to harm you because I didn't re-compel her after I died."

Bonnie's eyes are wide when she asks, "Is there anything else you compelled them to do or not do?"

He pauses and narrows his eyes while he thinks then he says, "I think that covers everything but if I recall anything else I'll let you know."

I can see in Bonnie's head that he's still glowing green, so she nods then goes back to our original subject and says, "So Beks, would you like to come to my house and help me pack for New Orleans?"

We all laugh when Rebekah vigorously nods her head smiling while she says, "Yes, more than anything!"

Bonnie nods and gets up from the table to wash off her plate and put it in the dishwasher before she tells them, "Then we should probably be heading out soon because I've got a lot to pack, and I'm not sure I'm leaving very much behind.  All the magick books have to come, too, so…."

They nod and Kol tells us, "I spoke to Elijah, and he said the new house has a very large library that all of our combined libraries of books should fit into if you don't mind us keeping all of our grimoires together."

Bonnie shakes her head to show she doesn't mind so he continues the thought, "When you finish packing each of your boxes and bags we can teleport them to the library or your personal room depending on what's in the box."

She nods and when Caroline stands the younger blonde tells us all, "When I told my mom I'm moving, I used my considerable ability to persuade without compulsion and convinced her to invite Kol and Rebekah into the house so that they can help me move.  Anyway, if we finish at Bon's early enough we can head to my house and pack my things, too.

We all nod at that while we head out of the kitchen and those with rooms here head up to their respective rooms to get ready for the day. 

Once they're dressed and back in the foyer Kol smiles and says, "Caroline and Jer would either of you mind if I do The Truth Spell on you both right now, so you'll both be able to more easily ascertain whether a person you're speaking with is lying or not?"

They turn and look at Bonnie, so she tells them, "It's safe and I've already got it on me as do all of the Mikaelson's except Henri and Finn so it should be fine and might actually be really helpful."

They nod so Kol places the spell on each of them and then says, "Henri, Finn, and Ms. Bennett I want to try it on you and see if it'll work okay?"

Henrik smiles a very wide smile and bounces on his toes while he says, "Sure.  I was beginning to feel left out anyway."

Finn and I nod more sedately and I laugh and tell them all, "I thought we agreed while you were on the Otherside that you may all call me Sheila or Grams depending on your comfort level calling a woman who might be younger than you Grams."

Kol and Rebekah smile and then in unison tell me, "Grams then."

I smile and Kol places the spell on us and then his sister says, "Elena is my most favorite person in the whole wide world."

Care, Jer, and Henri's eyes all get wide before Beks asks, "What did you all see?"

Henri all of us to it and says, "You had a bright red glow surrounding you.  That is so neat!"

Jer and Caroline nod in agreement before Kol smiles and says, "To be clear, green means truth, red means lie and yellow means the person is bending the truth.  The brightness of the yellow seems to indicate the level of truth or lie in the bending with the brighter color meaning it's more lie than truth."

We all nod again so he smiles back and then asks us all, "Okay, so are we ready?"

We all answer in the affirmative, so we head out to the cars and take Bonnie's and Caroline's to my granddaughter's house.

When we arrive at my granddaughter's home she walks up to the front door and lets everyone in.  The blonde original is near tears when she walks over the threshold so the dark skinned witch smiles and tells her, "Let me give you, Kol, Finn, and Henrik the quick tour then we can head to my room and the two spare rooms and start packing."

The blonde nods so Bonnie leads the Mikaelson children through the downstairs pointing out the living room, kitchen, and her dad's room, though we don't go into his room.  They take the time to examine each photo on the wall in the hallway occasionally asking how old the teenage witch was in each shot.  When she gets to the end of the hall she stops and looks at a picture taken a few days before Grayson and Miranda Gilbert died.  Caroline, Tyler, Matt, Elena, and Bonnie are all smiling big and holding each other close.

Kol stops beside the frowning girl and smiles before he says, "I know you're sad about the loss of your friendship with Elena but try to remember the happy times like this one here.  Eventually the pain you feel now will be overshadowed by the happiness you felt that day, and it'll get a little easier to bear the loss.  Although I'll be honest, the pain will probably never completely go away, or at least not for many centuries especially because she will also still be around to remind you of the loss, but it should get much easier with time." 

My grandbaby just nods before hugging him tightly.  She's brought out of the hug with a chuckle from the young ghost whisperer who is watching while the youngest original leans in close to a picture of Bonnie and Jeremy hugging when she was maybe seven years old and he was about four or so.  Smiling big the teenage boy says to the ancient vampire, "Betcha didn't know I was such a cute kid huh?  I'm not sure what happened, but my mom always used to say everyone thought I was the cutest kid around."

Rebekah smiles before she glances at him and tells him, "You're still cute.  Just in a slightly different way now."

Everyone else laughs at Jeremy's wide eyes and Rebekah's slight blush despite being a vampire then when the silence that follows becomes slightly uncomfortable my granddaughter leads our merry band up the stairs to her room, and she points out the two spare rooms while we walk by them.

When we all enter her bedroom she blushes and tells us, "Uh wow, this is the first time boys other than Matt and Tyler have been in my room, and they haven't come in here since before I started noticing boys were cute."

Kol smiles and tells her, "I'll be happy to help you pack your underwear drawer."

He frowns when he gets swatted from the front and back by Caroline, Rebekah, Bonnie, and me while Jeremy, Finn, and Henri all laugh their butts off.  The second youngest original looks at his teenage friend and asks, "Where is the man solidarity, Jeremy?"

The former hunter smiles and tells him, "Are you kidding?  I know better.  I'm living with you guys now, so all of them have access to the house I'm staying in, so I'm not going to do or say anything that might piss them off and make them come visit me while I'm sleeping.  While I doubt Grams would stoop so low I have memories of Care, Bon and Elena putting toothpaste on my face while I slept because I did something or the other and pissed them off.  And for the record that stuff stings."

The two teenage girls nod so Kol frowns deeper and tells us, "I suppose I should behave?"  When we nod at him he pouts and tells us, "But misbehaving can be so much fun.  I'll miss it."

We burst out laughing at that and Bonnie tells him, "Oh, I'm sure you can still manage to have _some_ fun without misbehaving too badly."

Her mate smiles and says, "I'm going to hold you to that."

Smiling back she tells him, "First I'm going to put you to work, and no you can't pack my underwear drawer."

He pouts again before he tells her, "But modern lady's underthings are so much better than the old stuff.  Are you sure I can't help?"

Giggling the dark skinned teen tells him. "I'm sure."

Henri groans and asks, "God, is it just me or are they even mushier than they were before I was corporeal?"

Everyone else nods deeply while Kol and Bonnie pout and her blush grows hotter.  The second youngest original laughs a moment later and although his pout deepens before he smiles he says, "I'm going to ignore that comment because I'm so happy to have you back Henri."

The ancient boy smiles and says, "Aww love you too, Big Brother."

Kol smiles widely and then turns to his mate and says, "Okay, put me to work."

She smiles and looks around before going out to the hallway and jumping while she tries to grab the string hanging from the ceiling so she can open the attic.  He follows her out into the hallway and just watches her jump a couple of times before he chuckles and walks over putting his hand on her shoulder before he tells her, "Allow me," then annoying tall person that he is he simply reaches up and grabs the cord.

He pulls the stairs down so after telling him, "I'll be right back," he nods and she goes up the stairs.  I go back to The Otherside and peak while she looks around at all of my daughter's old stuff and the new bookcases full of mine and some of Dr. Martin's books and then heads over to the corner where her luggage is stored.  She grabs all three bags and stumbles towards the stairs and a moment before she would have planted her face on the floor Kol is holding her and shaking his head, "We're not in a race, Little Bella, it's okay to take multiple trips instead of trying to carry three bags all at once and taking a tumble down the stairs.  I'd really prefer not to test out just how durable The Linking Spell has made you, so one thing at a time okay?"

I nod because I'd also prefer not to test her durability.  I can hear in her thoughts though that she can't explain it, but she feels like we need to hurry, so she tells him, "My gut says we need to hurry."

He looks at her for a long minute then he nods and says, "Okay then Beks, Finn, Caroline, and I can do the heavy lifting, okay?  Last thing we need is you or Jeremy getting hurt, okay?"

She nods and hands him the bags when he lets go of her and holds his arms out for them.

He easily carries all three down the stairs at one time, so she follows him down the stairs and then puts the stairs back up into the ceiling.

I return to the bedroom and turn myself corporeal just before he follows her into her room where Bonnie and I both do a double take at the blonde original who is smiling proudly over a pile of boxes that are already put together.  When her eyes meet mine she tells me, "I teleported them from our attic where Nik put them after we all moved into our current house.  He told me to tell Bon, Care and Jer to use as many as they need, and he even gave me permission to use his card to buy more if we need them."

Bonnie nods and smiles before telling her, "Thanks, I know I have a couple of boxes in the basement but I wasn't sure what to do about everything that wouldn't fit in them so this solves that problem."

The ancient blonde nods then asks, "So what do you want us to do first?"

The teen witch grabs two boxes and leads the youngest original, Henri, Finn, and Jer to the spare room next door to hers and asks, "Would you mind putting as many of these books as you can fit into boxes?  Pretty much every book in here has to go.  All the books in the room next door are going too."

Jeremy smiles and says, "Here Beks, give me two boxes, and Henri and I will go start in the other room.  You and Finn can do this room, Care and Grams can work on the books in Bonnie's room, and Bon and Kol can work on Bonnie's personal stuff.  I don't know about you, but I'd feel weird going through her personal things."

Finn nods deeply at that last part so Rebekah nods too and then she and her older brother start at opposite ends of the room and begin putting books into boxes while Jeremy and Henri go into the other room.

 

**:::::**

**Chapter 105**

**You'll Know When It's Time**

**:::::**

**Friday, January 21, 2011, 10:00 a.m.**

**Bonnie's Bedroom**

**:::::**

When Bonnie and I go back to her bedroom the young blonde is already putting books into boxes while Kol lays on my granddaughter's bed with Ms. Pips, her plush purple bunny rabbit, on his chest.  He's playing with the dolls arms bringing a giggle bubbling up out of the teen witch's mouth before she frowns when she recalls Elena telling her that Damon used to do the same thing with her bear anytime he visited her bedroom before they began dating and doing other things in bedrooms.

I decide to leave them both to it and walk over to Caroline and begin helping her while Bonnie also decides to leave the shaggy haired original where he is and heads over to her dresser to begin emptying it into one of her suitcases.  She blushes eight shades of red when she opens her underwear drawer and begins putting the mostly lacy items into the bag.

She feels eyes on her and sure enough when she looks over her shoulder the ancient man is staring at her intently before he smiles and says, "One day, Little Bella, I will get you to model each of those for me."

I just giggle and shake my head as my granddaughter thinks, _'Oh my God.'_   Caroline just giggles while her friend turns an even deeper shade of red then she tells the dark skinned girl, "It'll be fun, so don't worry about it."

Bonnie groans and then ignoring the 'him' in question she tells her blonde friend, "Let's pretend my grandmother isn't in the room.  It'll be fun?  Try nerve wracking.  I had a hard enough time wearing my bathing suit in front of him and his brothers."

Caroline stops what she's doing and looks at her still heavily blushing friend before frowning and asking, "Um why?  You've got a rockin' body, Bon, and he obviously digs you, and I sincerely doubt he has a single negative thought about you in regards to your underwear.  In fact, I bet you could wear a burlap sack and he'd still think you're hot."

The shaggy haired vampire laughs from the bed and tells his new blonde friend, "I don't think there is a single thing in existence that she could possibly wear that would cause me to think she's anything other than stunning."

He's very good for my granddaughter's self esteem.  Caroline smiles and says, "See, he thinks you're beautiful.  I know new things are scary until you do them a couple of times but Kol's not gonna let you flounder okay?  He obviously loves you, anyone can see that so no worries."

He clears his throat and says, "Little Bella what did I tell you yesterday?  You are in control here.  We'll go at your pace, and we'll stop whenever you want, and I won't even get angry with you if you wind me up and then send me to take a cold shower.  You, My Little Bella, are in charge when it comes to your body and my being granted the privilege of enjoying the many pleasures I'm sure it can offer.  I'm willing to wait for you to be ready for whatever you want to do with me, and I'm sorry because I seem to have made you uncomfortable with my teasing, and that was not my intent.  I'm just very much looking forward to seeing you in your underwear and without as well, but if you prefer I keep that to myself for the time being I can do that until you are more comfortable with me and our having a physical relationship."

Technically they're married now.  That Linking Spell only works if the two doing the spell are truly soul mates and intended for each other.  Obviously since it worked God intends for them to be together as one so I'm slowly getting used to the idea of my baby girl doing _those_ sorts of things with the ancient vampire.

It wasn't a standard wedding but it was essentially the same thing only without witnesses, or without any the pair is aware of anyway.  I doubt she's ready to hear that according to witch custom they're pretty much married though so I keep my thoughts to myself for the time being.  Bonnie frowns while she considers the vampire's words.  On the one hand, she kind of likes his teasing.  She's just nervous about doing anything, but on the other hand, the idea of him seeing her in her underthings makes her tummy rumble, and although it's not a completely terrible sensation it is relatively unfamiliar.  She shakes her head and tells the ancient man, "I don't mind your teasing.  I think it'll actually help me get more comfortable with it all.  I'm just nervous, um, you're the only person other than my parents and my doctor who's seen me topless, and you're definitely the only person who's seen me that way since I developed curves, and well what if you don't like how I look?  I mean now you're stuck with me and what if—"

I smile pleased when she doesn't get to finish because he's up off the bed in a flash and tipping her chin up, so he can look into her eyes while he tells her, "Bonnie, I need you to listen very carefully.  Can you do that for me?"

He used her name and his tone is serious, so she nods as much as his hand on her chin will allow.  His eyes soften and fill with his love for her before he continues, "I've seen enough of you thus far to know that there isn't a single inch I won't think is absolutely stunning.  I know it's natural to worry about that sort of thing, but I can tell you unequivocally that there are mere inches of you that I haven't seen, basically what the bottom half of your bathing suit covered, so I am quite certain that I will love every remaining inch of you just as much as I love the parts of you that I've already seen.  You're a tiny thing, your complexion is flawless, and your curves are very pleasing, so don't worry that I'm not going to like what you look like naked because I can already guarantee I'm going to be quite taken by you in the nude.  I, I love you and that includes every single last inch of you, and I know you'll worry until it happens, but I'm a guy, so I think most women are beautiful regardless of their size or color, and I think you personally are even more stunning than most, so try not to worry about it too much, okay?"

Um wow, I take it back my ancient friend isn't just good he's on a whole level higher than good.  His mate just nods before telling him, "O-okay, I'll try."

He leans down and kisses her then he smiles when he pulls away and zips back over to the bed laying down so fast she barely sees him move despite her having vampire senses now.

The witch looks over at Caroline who is smiling like a ninny so she asks her vampire friend, "What has you smiling like a crazy person?"

The blonde giggles and tells her best friend, "We're both very lucky because the Mikaelson men seem to be very good at sensing our insecurities, and despite their bad reps they are very good at reassuring us that we're perfect just the way we are.  Did I ever show you the drawing Klaus made me?  Now you know I'm not particularly insecure about how I look.  My insecurities lay elsewhere, but when I saw that drawing and realized that that's how he sees me well it made me feel really good about myself, and I can tell Kol has the same effect on you with his words."

The hazel-eyed girl nods and goes back to packing before she screws up her nerves and asks, "Grams, do you have anything to add?"

Smiling while I pack another box full of books I look up at her and tell her, "No, you're an adult now Baby Girl.  And Kol is your mate so it stands to reason you'll eventually do those sorts of things together.  I'm pleased to see that he's not rushing you and that he's letting you set the pace but I don't object if that's what you mean.  It's natural and when you're ready you'll know and it won't matter what I think or what Caroline or anyone else thinks because you'll want to share your body with the man you love and express your love for him in that most intimate of ways.  All I can say is don't rush but don't worry about it either, you'll know when it's right and I'm confident that Kol loves you and will let you lead and not rush you to be ready before you actually are."

My grandbaby nods with wide eyes and we all go back to packing.

 

**:::::**

**Chapter 106**

**Just Squeeze**

**:::::**

**Friday, January 21, 2011, 1:00 p.m.**

**Bonnie's House**

**:::::**

Almost three hours later Bonnie's tummy grumbles telling her it's time for lunch, so she finishes packing all of her trinkets and pictures off of her vanity and then turns and looks at Kol who is once again laying on her bed playing with Ms. Pips after having gone down to the basement and teleporting all of her grimoires from down there off of her new bookshelves and to the house in New Orleans.  He's also teleported all the books and artifacts from the attic too and has helped his sister teleport the boxes the rest of us have filled.

Smiling the teen witch asks, "Is anyone else hungry?  Because I could go for some food pretty soon."

Caroline smiles from her spot on the floor in front of her friend's closet where she's packing my granddaughter's extensive shoe collection into boxes and says, "I'm in the mood for Grille Cheese and Tomato Soup.  Do you have the makings for it, or should I run home and grab them from my kitchen?"

Bonnie thinks, _'Hmm yum,'_ and then smiles before telling her blonde friend, "I think I have everything we'll need.  Let's go grab Jer, Beks, Finn, and Henri and we can teach the thousand-year-old members of our family how to make proper Grille Cheese Sandwiches."

The two girls giggle and soon we're all down in the kitchen where I help Bonnie take everything out of the fridge and cupboard.  We very quickly show them how to make the perfect ooey-gooey cheese sandwiches and when the last one is made we all sit down and begin eating.  Henri frowns while he watches Jer dump a handful of goldfish crackers into his soup.  The ghost picks up one of the crackers that landed on the table and looks at it for a minute before he pops it into his mouth.  His eyes widen before he moans and begins chewing.  We all smile when he says, "God, this tastes amazing too.  What is this called?"

Jer laughs and says, "It's called a goldfish.  It's a cracker that tastes like cheddar cheese, which you probably haven't ever had before either because I don't think it existed 1,000 plus years ago."

All the people who were present 1,000 years ago nod while Henri takes a handful of the crackers and dumps them into his soup too.

He eagerly begins slurping up his soup and happily crunching on the goldfish in his bowl. 

Bonnie's only taken three bites when someone begins pounding on her front door.  She looks at Kol and asks, "Do your vampire spidey senses have any clue who that is because mine don't?"

He doesn't get a chance to answer when Elena pounds on the door again and says loudly, "I know you're in there Bonnie, your car is out front.  Open the damn door."

Sighing the witch gets up from her seat and takes two steps towards the door when her mate puts his hand on her arm and says, "Remember she can't get in or touch you if you stay inside the house.  My compulsions on her will only keep her from 'knowingly' harming you.  If you recall she managed to bruise you without realizing it once before and that was after I compelled her not to try to harm you, so because she's obviously upset and there is no telling what she might try to do, no matter what don't let any part of you cross that threshold if you don't want me defending you and harming your friend."

The young teen nods solemnly and tells him, "I know, but thank you for the reminder."

He just nods before Elena kicks the door and I hear the wood crack a little.  The dark skinned girl marches to the door and wrenches it open before telling her former friend, "Stop beating on my house it didn't do anything to you, and I'll be really pissed off if you break my front door."

We all get up and peer around the door so we can see Elena but she can't see us.  The baby vampire's nostrils flare and her hands are in fists at her sides.  Her eyes flash and she asks, "Is it true?  Did you give The Originals back their magick?"

Crap.  Sighing, Bonnie shakes her head and tells her, "I was present when it happened, but it wasn't my doing.  The spell was already in their possession and they simply chose to try it the same time I did."

"You stupid bitch don't you see?  They're turning you against us.  The Bonnie I know and love never would have done anything to make The Freaking Originals stronger than they already were.  1,000-year-old vampires were scary enough, but now they have fucking magick?  And it's all your fault."

The brat's still not listening but my grandbaby still tries to get through to the girl, "I told you I didn't do anything.  They already had the damn spell and for the record they're much calmer and less likely to wreak havoc and do evil than they were before they got their magick back."

The doppelgänger sneers, "Oh, I'm sure they're just as harmless as fluffy bunnies!"

Henri giggles and says, "Not bloody likely."

The dark skinned witch chuckles and turning to look at him says, "Oh Hush you."

He laughs and mimes zipping his lips and locking them before tossing the make-believe key over his shoulder.

The witch giggles again before shaking her head lightly and refocusing on Elena.  The baby vampire's eyes are narrowed and her eyebrow is raised before Bonnie tells her quite honestly, "Oh they're much more dangerous than a fluffy bunny.  They just choose not to do harm.  Now if you're done yelling at me and beating on my house my lunch is getting cold."

She closes the door and leans against it before yelping when her former friend lands a solid kick to it that sends wood flying into my granddaughter's leg.  Kol is by her side almost faster than her blood flows.  He grabs her hand and begins leading her to the couch and says, "Little Bella lay down on the couch and I'll pull the wood out so it can heal."

The dazed witch just nods before more wood goes flying, and some of it hits her back and then falls to the floor.  Caroline frowns and opens the front door before she asks rather snottily, "What is your glitch Elena?  I mean really?  You're breaking Bonnie's house in a way that she'll have to try to explain to her Dad later.  How immature are you?"

The blonde baby vampire goes to take a step out of the house when the older blonde original walks beside her and holds her arm keeping her in place before she tells Caroline, "Kol's compulsion from last night should keep her from trying to harm you, but it also should have probably kept her from trying to destroy Bonnie's house, so it's best you not go out there, especially because I'm not in the mood to deal with Nik when I have to explain how she managed to get close enough to hurt you."

The younger blonde doesn't get a chance to answer because Elena rushes the invisible barrier and screams, "You fucking invited Rebekah, Kol, and Caroline inside?  You've refused to invite any vampires in and now suddenly you're inviting them inside?  Don't you see, they're compelling you or brainwashing you or something because the Bonnie I know never would have invited any vampire inside her dad's house where they could hurt him whenever they want."

Bonnie winces while Kol motions for her to lay down, but she shakes her head and walks back to the door, or rather she limps to the door, and mindful to stay on this side of the threshold she looks at her former friend and tells her, "They haven't done anything to indicate to me that they're a threat to me or mine.  You, Stefan and Damon on the other hand have all hurt me or in Stefan's case he hurts anyone who's near an open wound… so of course I haven't invited the three of you inside my house.  Caroline on the other hand has helped me bandage bloody wounds on three different occasions without even getting vein-ey around the eyes.  And don't get me started on Kol and Beks lack of violence towards me and those I care about."

The brunette baby vampire huffs and says, "Uh, are you forgetting I'm a vampire because Rebekah killed me or that Kol chopped off Jer's arms after trying to kill him through Damon.  And those are only three of the times they've hurt us.  There have actually been a whole bunch more."

My granddaughter frowns at the still seething vampire and leans forward a little before she tells her, "I meant after our truce was formed.  Besides I've already explained multiple times that killing you was the only way to save all vampires everywhere, and the whole Jer thing was with his permission, and he doesn't seem to mind being friends with them anyway."

Frowning the doppelgänger leans against the invisible barrier and says, "Of course he's cool with them.  You told him they're cool, and since he's in love with you and follows you around like a little lost puppy of course he's going to think they're harmless."

Bonnie and Caroline both hold in giggles forcefully when Henri snorts and says, "Oh he's in love with a witch alright but I don't think her name is Bonnie.  Although her name starts with the same letter sometimes."

Rebekah smacks the back of her little brother's head causing him to yelp and say, "Hey now, there's no need to get violent, especially when Bonnie is busy extolling just how non-violent you all are nowadays."

Bonnie can't hold the giggle in any longer but it dies quickly when Elena growls and her vampire visage comes to the fore just before she smacks at the barrier, so the witch smiles a not nice smile and tells her, "Oh they're not even remotely harmless, and if you don't leave I might be more than a little tempted to let them beat some sense into you, so I strongly suggest you leave, now."

The new vampire shakes her head and tells her former friend, "Don't you see what they're doing.  You're betraying me to them because you're believing their lies.  They're not really your friends.  Even with them having magick again they're just using you.  They—"

Kol gently moves Bonnie out of the way and stands just inside the door jam before he interrupts the baby vampire and tells her, "Enough, I tire of you trying to convince Bonnie that we mean her harm when we don't mean her anything of the sort.  I want you to think of all the times Bonnie has been hurt or in danger.  How many of those times were a direct result of your or your group's actions and not the result of my family's actions, because from where I'm counting Nik and I are the only ones from my family who have actively tried to harm Bonnie.  And even then I changed my plans when I realized how great she is, so I made a move to attack her once and then midway through changed my ways and Nik tried to harm her once while you and yours have harmed her countless times, and I'm including the instances where you encouraged her to use dark magick because if she had continued on that path she'd probably be dead right now no thanks to you and your merry band of idiots.  Now leave before I compel you to leave all of us alone for the rest of eternity."

The bratty vampire raises her chin and says, "I dare you to try.  Then Bonnie will see your true colors."

The original turns and looks at my grimacing granddaughter, "Either I compel her to go away or I beat some manners into her.  The choice is yours, Bonnie."

The young witch certainly doesn't want him to hurt her former friend despite how horrible the baby vampire is being to Jeremy and herself so Bonnie tells him, "Just make her go away."

The shaggy haired vampire nods and catches the younger vampire's eyes despite her trying to avoid looking at him.  He tells her, "You will leave here and go to the boarding house.  You will not try to speak to nor contact Bonnie, Jeremy, Caroline or any Mikaelson unless we contact you first and even then you are only to interact with us with our permission.  If any of us ever tell you to leave us alone you will immediately cease trying to contact us.  You also will not try to harm any of the previously mentioned individuals' property under any circumstance.  Now leave and don't come back."

The ancient teen holds the younger girl's gaze while she repeats the compulsion back to him, and then he releases her and we all watch the baby vampire immediately turn and stomp to her car.  When she's in her car and drives off Kol turns to Bonnie and says, "Now, Little Bella, lay down on the couch so I can remove the wood from your leg and back."

My grandbaby's eyes widen before she asks, "My back?"

The original nods and tells his mate, "Yes there is a rather large piece of wood sticking out of your back.  I imagine the adrenaline is keeping you from noticing it, so I'd rather take it out and let it heal before the adrenaline wears off."

The trembling teen just nods and lets him lead her to the couch.  He leans down and kisses her telling her, "Don't worry, the high will keep you from feeling most of the pain of me removing it and then you'll be good as new in no time, though you may end up sleeping once the high wears off, but if that happens we'll just continue packing your things until you wake up okay?"

The young witch nods kind of in a daze and lies down on her stomach while he helps her onto the couch.  Caroline comes over and grabs a hold of her friend's hand and tells the darker skinned girl, "If you feel any pain squeeze my hand okay?  You can't hurt me or if you do I'll heal right away so just squeeze."

Nodding the hazel-eyed girl then yelps and squeezes for dear life when Kol pulls the piece of wood out of her back.  He lifts the back of her shirt and then says, "Dammit, Little Bella, I need you to take your shirt off so I can get the little splinters out okay?"

She nods again still in a daze and slips her shirt off grimacing when she begins to feel the stirrings of pain while she moves.  Jer brings something to Kol and hands it to him and I realize a moment later that it's tweezers when the original begins removing little pieces of wood.

Rebekah pulls the wood out of Bonnie's leg and then rolls the younger girl's pant leg up and inspects the skin before she tells us, "It looks like the big piece in her leg was the only piece that got through her jeans."

Bonnie doesn't hear Kol's response and she shuts her eyes.  She's so very tired, so she just allows herself to drift to sleep.


	23. Who’s Laughing

**Author's Note:** This chapter has at least one paraphrased quote from the show.  I'm sure you all will recognize it because it's one of Kol's more well-known quotes.  I do not in anyway claim ownership of that or any other lines from the show that may be in this chapter.

**______________________________________________________________________________**

**Chapter 23**

**Who’s Laughing?**

**______________________________________________________________________________**

**Friday, January 21, 2011, just after 4:00 p.m.**

**Bonnie's Bedroom**

**______________________________________________________________________________**

I am on The Otherside pacing in Bonnie's room.  I'm invisible to the occupants of the room because Kol said my pacing was beginning to become tiresome.  He’s sitting in Bonnie's Vanity chair next to his Little Bella's bed. 

She thankfully passed out before he had to really dig to get the last couple of splinters out.  She's been asleep for almost three hours, and Rebekah, Finn, Jeremy, Caroline, Henri, Kol, and I finished packing her things about twenty minutes ago.

Caroline was incredibly helpful because she's gone on trips with Bonnie before, so she knew what essentials my grandbaby will want with her when we make the trip.  Everything else has been teleported to the new house in New Orleans.

The others left to go pack up Caroline's things at her house a few minutes ago, so it's just Bonnie, Kol, and myself in the house.  I'm not a violent person by nature, but I tend to agree with Kol’s urge to go to the boarding house and beat Elena, the bitch, to a bloody pulp for hurting his ‘ _Little Bella.’_  

However, we both know Bonnie well enough to know that doing so would only further upset her, and the last thing either of us wants to do is distress her more than she already will be when she wakes, even if rearranging Elena's face would make _us_ feel better.

My grandbaby moans in her sleep and her eyes flutter before her heart rate slowly picks up its pace, so Kol leans forward resting his elbows on his knees while he waits for his Little Bella to wake up.  Her eyes flutter a few more times and then slowly open.  She lays there for a minute before she lifts her head and the blanket and looks at her body.  She wonders, _'How did I end up in my Pj's?'_ before a blush blooms across her cheeks and down her neck. 

Kol laughs and tells her, "Relax, Little Bella, your grandmother, Caroline, and Beks helped you change after we got all of the wood out."

"Oh my God, Elena!" and she sits up in a hurry and then grabs her head when the world spins ever so slightly. 

Kol reaches out and grips her shoulder gently, steadying her before he tells her, "Easy there, Darling.  Elena's gone back to the boarding house.  I had Jer call Damon and double check that she was there and unharmed.  He couldn't really talk much because she was screaming quite a bit, but he assured Jer she got there in one piece and that she was unhurt.  I removed all the wood from your back, and Beks called Nik and got the number for his contractor who gave Nik the supplies when he fixed up our house.  So, we replaced your front door, and it looks just like the old one if not a little sturdier.  We've been packing under Caroline's careful direction.  Has she always been so organized and take-charge?"

Bonnie giggles and nods so he grins back and continues, "Well, she's efficient.  I'll give her that.  She says the only things left are the things you said you wanted to take on the trip with you and your toiletries.  Once you feel up to it, you can check each room and all the drawers and shelves and make sure we haven't inadvertently missed something."

She looks around her room, which is bare of all her personal items then she lays back down, but grabs hold of Kol's hand tightly before the first tear slips out of her eye.  Standing, he tries to let go of my baby girl's hand, but she holds on for dear life, so he gently tells her, "I'm not going anywhere, Little Bella.  I was just going to join you on your bed so that I can hold you while you cry."

She nods and reluctantly lets go of his hand.  He pulls down the blanket and then picks her up and puts her closer to the other side of her bed before he toes off his shoes and then climbs onto the bed pulling her into his arms, "Shh, Little Bella, Jer, and Caroline are safe, and you are fully healed.  Although I do want to get some food into you as soon as you feel up to it because you barely ate any lunch and the adrenaline crash will probably make you very hungry once you're fully awake."

She trembles and her tears pick up the pace until she's sobbing against his chest, so he just holds her while she cries out her anger, fear, frustration, sadness, and a little bit of misplaced guilt.

When her tears finally slow some twenty minutes later her hand slides down his chest to the hem of his t-shirt before tucking under it and sliding up until she's touching the bare skin of his abdomen.  Her fingers brush back and forth along the flesh there. 

If she doesn't stop that soon, he's going to have a very stiff hard-on, but he's loathed to ask her to stop because other than yesterday when he had no shirt on this is really the first time she's initiated touching him beneath his clothes.

Bonnie wiggles up alongside him until their mouths are about even then she leans in and kisses him sweetly.  He just enjoys the gentle kiss while her tongue traces the seam of his lips seeking entrance into his mouth.  He, of course, grants it, and then her little tongue is massaging his, and he thinks that she really is an incredibly talented kisser for someone who is so inexperienced when it comes to the carnal arts.

My grandbaby's hand slides farther up his torso until his shirt hinders her path, so she pulls her lips away from his and tugs at his shirt with her other hand before she says, "Off."

He pauses and considers.  He doesn't want to stop her, but perhaps he should do just that because going farther than they have already after such a traumatic event might be taking advantage. 

Bonnie pulls away from him slightly and tells him, "Don't do that Kol.  You're not taking advantage.  I know exactly what I'm doing, and I'm not reacting to what happened earlier, not really anyhow.  I just want to feel you and be as close to you as I can get.  Your presence and warmth comfort me.  I promise I'll stop us before we go farther than I'm comfortable with."

He nods and sits up before pulling his t-shirt off and tossing it off the side of the bed and then lies back down.  Bonnie sits up, too, and removes her tank top and then her bra before practically climbing on top of him and pressing her bare chest into his causing him to think, _'God that feels so bloody good.'_   She wiggles again until she can reach his lips once more and then she leans in and kisses him again.

They kiss for a minute, and although he's mindful of where the edge of her smaller than his bed is he then rolls them, so she's under him.  Kissing her hard for a moment, he then pulls back and looks her over before telling her quite honestly, "Stunning, just stunning."  He leans in and kisses her lips, cheeks, chin, and then trails his kisses along her jaw and down to her neck before sucking on her pulse point for a moment before he continues trailing his kisses down and across her collarbone and then down to her breast. 

Okay, I think she's fine, and I will just go sit downstairs until they finish comforting each other.  I think myself down to the living room and do my best to avoid eavesdropping on the couple upstairs though I do hear my granddaughter say, "Oh God, Kol, please."

She repeats herself, "Oh God, Kol, Please, I need, please."

I can hear his grin when he asks her, "Tell me what you need, Little Bella.  Tell me, and I'll do it."

A moment later my _grandbaby_ tells him, "I, I don't know what I need or want, Kol, I've never… I just _need_ , please."

That's bordering on dangerous territory, so he asks her, "Exactly how far are we going, Bonnie?  I need to know before we go any farther, so I have some idea of when I should stop us."

There is silence for a moment then he asks again, "How far, Bonnie?  Tell me, and then I'll go back to what I was doing a minute ago."

She pauses then tells him with quite a bit of passion in her voice, "I don't want you to stop Kol, not ever."

I hear him think, _'Sweeter words have never been spoken, but I still don't want to take advantage,'_ so he resists her when she once again tries to pull his lips to hers and asks her, "Are you sure Bonnie.  I'm not opposed to waiting longer.  I don't want you to mistake my teasing earlier for impatience.  I also don't want you to make love with me because of what happened earlier and then regret it later.  I want no regrets between us ever, so I need to know that you're 100% sure that you're ready, or I will stop us right now before it goes too far."

I can tell he means that too.  He'll have to take a spin in her shower under very cold water afterward, but he will not take advantage of her or the trauma she suffered earlier.  He thinks, _'We have the rest of Eternity and waiting a few days or even weeks or hell even months won't kill me.  And oh my God will it definitely be worth the wait.'_  

He really does think she's reacting to Elena though, so he wants her to step back and look at things from a different vantage point.

My precious girl shakes her head and tells him, "I know what you're thinking, Kol, but it's merely a coincidence that I got hurt and fought with Elena and am now trying to get you to sleep with me.  I, I want you Kol.  In ways I've never wanted anyone before, not even Jer, and he's the only other boy I've ever loved romantically.  I, I need to feel you.  You make me feel safe and loved, and while, yes, some of the need to feel safe and loved is a response to what happened I wouldn't try to go that far with you if I wasn't ready because I don't want any regrets between us either.  I, I love you Kol, and I want to be with you in every way.  I'm ready, I promise."

I see in Kol’s still slightly reluctant mind while he looks into her eyes trying to gauge just how honest she's being.  Oh, she's glowing green, so he knows she believes what she's saying, but what she thinks and what is true are not necessarily the same thing.  She could hardly look at him when he teased her earlier, but he's not sure if that's because she wasn't ready or because Caroline and I were in the room with them while he was teasing her.  He sees her love for him shining out at him in her eyes, and he decides to take her words at face value and trust that she knows herself well enough that she wouldn't unintentionally lie to him even if she subconsciously thought it would please him.

He leans down and kisses her while his hand returns to her breast before he pulls back slightly and tells her, "I'm going to trust that you know what you're ready for and what you're not ready for.  I'm also going to trust that you aren't trying to please me with things you're not ready to give, but if you change your mind at any time I want you to promise you'll tell me, okay?  I promise I won't get angry no matter how far into it we are.  I may very well make a B-line for your shower and some very cold water, but I won't be angry okay?"

She nods and tells him, "I know.  I trust you to follow my lead, and I realize I'm asking you to trust that I'm not rushing things in reaction to Elena, but I'm really not.  I was going to try to go farther with you this morning when I first woke up, but then my stomach and the conversation downstairs distracted me.  I want you Kol, in every way possible, right now and always.  Do you remember what Nik said that first day?  I told Caroline I was waiting until it felt real and forever, and it does with you.  Always and Forever, Kol."

He thinks, _'God, I know she doesn't know the significance of those words to my siblings and me, but I know her well enough to know they do have the same kind of significance for her,'_ so he leans in and kisses her before bringing one hand up and squeezing her breast.  His other hand travels down to her hip and then cups her through her shorts.

I stand abruptly from my seat on the couch and begin pacing again.  I try very hard not to listen as they explore each other.  I'm not having much success, so I hurriedly walk into the kitchen and begin cleaning up after lunch.  Everyone put their dishes in the sink, but the dishwasher was full and clean, so the dirty dishes need cleaning.  Opening the dishwasher, I put all the clean dishes away.  When that's done I decide filling the dishwasher with the dirty dishes won't take long enough, so I fill one side of the sink with soapy water, and I begin slowly and methodically washing all our dishes.

I'm pleased that Kol continued to be mindful of what my granddaughter was ready for, but I really don't want to invade their privacy any more than I already have.  I firmly believe he's a good match for her.  Actually, I think they're a good match for each other.  My ancient friend needs to be loved unconditionally, and my baby girl is just the woman for the job.

When all the dishes are clean I listen in long enough to hear Kol tell my baby girl, "Careful, Little Bella, remember I don't wear anything under my pants, so you're about to get an eye full as you once put it."

I can tell she is grinning at him when she pulls away from his nipple and tells him with a sparkle in her hazel eyes, "I'm hoping it's a mouth full."

Chuckling to myself I focus back on the dishes.  I slowly dry each bowl and then place it in the cupboard where it goes.  Next, I take apart the top of the stove and clean up the splatters that have accumulated over time.  I use a damp paper towel to rinse the soap off the stove and then use a dry paper towel to remove the dampness before putting the stove back together.   When that's done I open the oven door but it's already spotless, so I close it again.

I check back in with the duo upstairs in time to hear Kol tell my precious girl, "If I cum today I want to cum inside you, so it's time I get you naked so that I can make that happen."

Bonnie giggles and lifts her hips in silent invitation before he tells her, "I really do love modern lady's underthings.  They're so much sexier than the old-fashioned undergarments you would have worn if you were born even a century ago."

She giggles again and tells him, "And what do you know I'm modeling my modern underwear for you, just like you wanted from day one."

I chuckle because she has no idea how badly he's wanted this since the night she saved his life.   I focus back on the kitchen and what else I can clean to keep myself busy.  I take the bucket out of the cupboard beneath the sink and fill it with hot soapy water and then begin scrubbing the floor by hand because that should take longer and keep me more focused than using the mop would.

I focus on the heat of the water when I dip the sponge into the bucket and the slide of the soap bubbles on my skin while I squeeze the excess water out.  Bonnie has kept a very tidy house.  I think that's mostly because she feared what her father would do if she didn't, but regardless the floor doesn't actually need to be cleaned and especially not as thoroughly as I am doing it.

Half an hour later I stand and wet the mop before rinsing the floor quickly.  Stepping back when I finish I decide I at the least haven't made it dirtier, so that's a plus.

I tune into the couple upstairs and hear him think that he's had a lot of sex in the years since he bedded his first maiden.  There have been a fair amount of virgins in the 301 years he was not in his box while sexually active.  Though, he doesn't think any of them were anywhere near as tight as she was.  He silently hopes, _'If I'm lucky, The Linking Spell we did will keep her this tight for all time.  Although, now that I think about it she may find that her maidenhead will regrow, and we'll have to break through it every time like I know my Sister has to anytime she has sex.'_  

So far as I can tell they're done when he says, "I love you, Bonnie, Always and Forever."

I can see through his mind when a tear slips out of her eye before she tells him, "I love you, too, Always and Forever."  She leans up and kisses him then pulls back and says, "That was beautiful and more than I could have hoped for when I decided to wait until it felt real and forever.  Thank you."

He brushes his thumb under her eye brushing away her tear before he laughs and asks her, "Did you seriously just thank me for making love to you?  Believe me, the pleasure was definitely all mine, and if you feel like repeating the act anytime just let me know."

She frowns, so he kisses her tenderly and tells her, "I didn't mean to make light of what you said.  You're welcome, and it really was my pleasure.  I, it was never that good before and given that I've been fucking for over 300 years that's saying something.  Then again I've only ever truly made love to one other woman."

My baby girl smiles slightly and says, "You mean Chalina?"

He nods and wonders, _'Is it weird to bring up my past love while in the naked arms of my current love?'_  

Bonnie just smiles and tells him, "You look pained, Kol.  I'm not upset that you brought her up."

Then she smiles, and as if she's reading his thoughts she says, "I also don't think it's weird.  She was a part of your past, and really that makes her part of who you are now, too.  If you hadn't loved her and started writing that spell, we wouldn't be linked right now.  Plus, I think she taught you how to not only love but forgive yourself for your sins, so you could love me fully when the time came.  I get the sense that she was the only other one you truly loved the way you love me.  I also think her loss made you appreciate love more when it came to you a second time.  You value me more and work harder at keeping me safe both physically _and_ emotionally because of the gaping hole her death left in your heart."

She's correct on all counts, so he just nods slightly.  She pauses and kisses him then says, "Really when you think about it I owe her quite a bit of gratitude.  First, for loving you and second, for teaching you the things you needed to learn to be with me this way.  After all, you've said multiple times since we became friends that she's the one who finally managed to teach you how to control your anger and jealousy enough that you could ultimately control your bloodlust, too."

Bonnie reaches up and wipes a tear from his cheek before he tells her, "I, I never thought I'd open myself up to someone this way again because it hurt so bloody much when she died, but I'm glad I have and that it's you who won my heart.  I'm also so incredibly grateful that you agreed to The Linking Spell so I can let go of the nagging fear that I'll lose you, too.  I wouldn't have survived your loss, but now it's impossible, so I can breathe easier."

My granddaughter smiles and nods before telling him, "I love you, Kol."

He smiles and leans down and kisses her briefly before he tells her, "And I love you, Bonnie."

Just then Kol hears a car door close and a single heartbeat walk towards the front door, so he leans down and kisses her before telling her, "I hate to end this little interlude, but I think your father is home."

Bonnie's eyes widen, so Kol pulls out of her moaning at the loss of her heat while she moans at the loss of him inside her before he throws his clothes on at vampire speed and then hands her the pile of clothes Caroline left out for her to wear once she woke up.  She dresses quickly though not as fast as he did. 

I return to The Otherside making myself invisible again a moment before her father opens the front door and Kol asks her, "Do you want to officially introduce me, or would you prefer I leave via the window and we do the introductions another time?"

Frowning my baby girl asks, "Can we do both?  You leave out the window and then come back in a minute or two, so he doesn't know what we just did." 

She blushes when she says the last part, so I laugh lightly at the fact that they just did what they just did but talking about it causes her to blush deeply.  Kol thinks it's humorous, too.  Still, he smiles and tells her, "I can do that.  Do you mind if I compel him to resist all compulsions from anyone not you or my family and me?" 

Her eyes widen, but then they narrow so he tells her, "The loophole would be there for the same reason I put it there when I compelled Jeremy.  It's a safety precaution, nothing more.  No one in my family will abuse the existence of the loophole if only because we know it would upset you if we do."

She frowns and tells him, "Sorry, I wasn't upset about that because I know why you want it there and honestly it makes sense to have the loophole, so that's not why I was frowning."

He smiles gently but tells her, "Was?  You're still frowning, Little Bella.  What's wrong?"

She leans in and kisses him and then says, "I just wish I knew how much of his acceptance of my recent decisions is his free will and how much is your compulsion.  It's not a big deal, and I'll get over it eventually."

He frowns and tells her, "I wish I could fix it for you, but we need to keep the compulsion in place.  Plus, the man used to beat you on a regular basis.  I hate to say it, but I doubt he has many nice things to think or say about anyone, you included."

My baby girl nods and says quietly, "I know.  Don't worry I'll get over it."

He leans in and kisses her just when her father calls out, "Bonnie, are you home?"

Kol walks to the window, opens it, and then blows her a kiss before jumping out the window and landing a few feet away while she yells back, "I'm upstairs, Dad."  Based on where the heartbeat is in the house Kol goes around the opposite side of the house before walking at vampire speed to the end of the block, and then he stands there for a minute before turning around and walking back to Bonnie's house at a human pace.

When he reaches the front door, he rings the bell and waits.  Rudy answers and asks, "May I help you?"

Wow, déjà vu' but Kol keeps his smile from becoming suspicious and tells the ass, "Yes sir.  I'm Kol Mikaelson, a friend of Bonnie's.  I'm hoping she's home, and I can take her out for dinner if you don't mind.  My sister, 'Bekah, said Caroline, Jer, Bonnie, and she worked most of the day boxing and shipping Bonnie's things, so I figured I'd stop by and offer to buy your daughter some dinner, so she doesn't have to worry about cooking for herself after working so hard all day long."

Kol can hear Bonnie moving around upstairs presumably looking through each room to make sure that we packed everything and didn’t miss anything.  When he says the last word, Bonnie comes down the stairs and smiles a blinding smile at him before she says, "Hey Kol.  You just missed Rebekah and the others."

While she moves to stand beside her father, Kol smiles and tells her, "I know.  I saw Beks when she came home briefly before heading to Caroline's house, and she told me how hard you all worked today, so I thought I'd come and save you from having to cook after a hard day’s work and offer to take you to The Grill for dinner."

She smiles but turns to look at her father and asks, "Do you mind Dad, or would you prefer I stay home tonight?"

The balding man shakes his head and tells her, "No, I have a meeting with the Sheriff and other town officials, so go have fun with your friend.  Are you sleeping over at Rebekah's again tonight?"

Bonnie’s green eyes widen before she says, "Uh, if you don't mind, I'd love to.  She invited me to stay over, but I wasn't sure if you'd be cool with me staying over two nights in a row."

Rudy smiles the way he usually does at her when others are present and tells her, "You're a grown woman, and this time next week you'll be living on your own, so although I'm pleased that you're so considerate I don't think it's really necessary at this point.  All I ask is that you let me know where you'll be for the night, so if something happens I know where you are, but other than that you're an adult now, so I'll let you make that decision for yourself."

She leans up and kisses his cheek before telling him, "Thanks Dad," then she turns and looks at her mate before she says, "I just need to grab an overnight bag, Kol.  I'll be right back."

Rudy moves so he's not blocking the door and motions with his hand obviously testing the vampire to see if he can enter without an invitation, so Kol walks past the man into the house suppressing his chuckle when Rudy lets out a sigh of relief, and his shoulders relax dramatically.

Bonnie's father turns before he shuts the door, so Kol catches his eyes.  He compels him, "You will from this moment forward wholly and completely resist all vampire and witch compulsions from everyone except your daughter, myself, Rebekah Mikaelson, Elijah Mikaelson, Niklaus Mikaelson, Finn Mikaelson, Henrik Mikaelson, Sheila Bennett, or Caroline Forbes regardless of how much or how little Vervain is in your system."

Kol pauses so he can repeat his words back to him and then Kol tells him, "You will not remember any of my compulsion just now or that I am a vampire."

Rudy repeats those words to him, so Kol releases him and smiles at him and because he doesn't remember anything that just happened Rudy asks, "So Kol, what do you do?"

Kol smiles and tells him, "I graduated from Secondary School two Junes ago and then took two years off while I tried to decide on a Major and a university."

Rudy nods and asks, "And did you decide?"

Kol nods back, and thankful that he did a bit of research on his phone last night while Bonnie slept he tells the abusive ass, "Yes, I'm thinking Anthropology and Mythology, perhaps with a minor in English because I think I'd like to use my degrees to write.  As for a school, I'm thinking Tulane or the University of New Orleans."

Rudy nods while Bonnie comes back down the stairs with the bag Caroline packed for her slung over her shoulder.  When she reaches the two men, Kol reaches out and slides her bag off her shoulder.  Rudy smiles at her and surprisingly tells her, "I'm so proud of you Bonnie, and I think you've learned from your past mistakes and are making really smart decisions about your future."

Kol lets out a sigh while his shoulders release the tension he hadn't even realized was making them stiff.  Bonnie is smiling an ear to ear smile with her pearly white teeth showing before she leans up and kisses her father's cheek.  When she pulls away from him, she says, "Thank you, Dad."

My former son-in-law nods so Kol reaches out and shakes his hand before the vampire lies through his teeth, "It was nice meeting you, Sir."

Bonnie's father nods and says, "Have a good evening you two," and then he walks towards his room.

Kol holds the new door open for Bonnie smiling when she quickly inspects the door before smiling widely at him and heading out to the car.  He smiles back and closes the door before following her out of the house.  She gets into the passenger side after handing him her keys, so he goes around the car and gets in before adjusting the seat.

Kol turns and looks at her before asking, "So do you really want to go to The Grill, or do you want to go to my house, or do you want to see if Caroline and the others need any help?"

She takes out her phone and dials.  When the line connects Caroline asks, "Bonnie, are you feeling better?"

Bonnie smiles and says, "I _am_ feeling better, thanks."

Caroline’s smile is evident when she tells Bonnie, "I figured Kol would take good care of you."

My grandbaby laughs and tells her friend, "You have no idea."

Caroline laughs but then stops abruptly and says, "Wait, I sense a story, spill."

Kol and I both smile when my grandbaby says, "It was real and forever, so I stopped waiting."

Thankfully, Bonnie knows her friend well enough that she pulls the phone away from her ear just in time to avoid hearing damage when Caroline squeals, "Really!?  You did it?"

Bonnie blushes ten shades of red again before she nods and says, "Um yes and it was amazing.  Anyway, that's not why I called.  I want to know if you still need help packing or can Kol and I can go back to his house for some more alone time."

Kol smiles wider when Caroline laughs and says, "Totally go have alone time.  We're almost done here anyway so go bask in the glow.  Since we've discovered that ghosts can eat and taste food Jer and I promised to take Beks, Finn, and Henri to the local DQ, so the three of them can try soft serve ice cream, so we're probably going to head there soon."

Bonnie smiles and says "Okay, I bet Henri will love that.  I'll talk to you later."

Caroline laughs again and tells her, "Oh, we definitely will, and you'll be telling me everything."

When Bonnie hangs up a moment later, she turns and tells Kol, "Other than needing to eat I'm down with going back to your house."

I make myself visible to the two other people in the car at the same time Kol nods and pulls out of my granddaughter's driveway heading in the direction of The Grill.  Kol doesn't so much as twitch when I appear in the rearview mirror, but Bonnie notices my appearance and jumps so hard she almost bumps her head on the ceiling.  "Geeze, Grams, don't do that!"

I chuckle and tell her, "My apologies, Baby Girl.  We need to come up with a way for us ghosts to warn you all that we're about to materialize."

Bonnie nods and then asks, "So what's up, were you with Caroline and the others?"

I smile gently and tell her, "No, I stayed behind with Kol and cleaned up your kitchen while you comforted each other."

I chuckle when she blushes furiously, and her jaw drops, and she turns an even brighter red again before stuttering, "You-you were in the house?"

I nod, so she covers her face with her hands and says, "Oh my God."

I place my hand on her shoulder and tell her, "Relax, Baby Girl, once I knew he wasn't pressuring you to do anything I went downstairs and did your dishes, by hand, and then washed your floor and the stove to keep myself busy.  I only peeked every so often to find out if you were done yet, but as soon as I realized you weren't, I closed my mind again and went back to cleaning.  Your private moments were private.  You're okay though?"

She peeks out from between her fingers and smiles before she nods then she lowers her hands and says, "I'm perfect."

Kol laughs and says, " _Yes_ , you are."

Her blush returns in full force.  We chat about how much we think Henri is going to enjoy soft serve ice cream and before we know it we arrive at The Grill.  Kol parks the car quite a bit down the street from the bar and then gets out going to Bonnie's door to help her out of the vehicle.  She giggles, and when he raises his eyebrow at her, she smiles and tells him, "Sorry, your impeccable manners reminded me of our conversation at the coffee shop that first morning and the way you said the world has gone to crap in the last hundred years.  Chivalry is not dead for you, and I really do love that about you."

He smiles while he reaches back and helps me out of the car, too.  He tells her honestly, "I wish I could say something corny about it being a reaction to you.  In truth, chivalry was the way of most lands for the majority of my existence, and I really do hate that the Modern World seems to have lost touch with it."

She smiles and tells him, "Care said Nik said something similar once.  I wasn't friends with you all at that point, but now that I know all of you so much better than I did I can see how much you and all of your older brothers really hate that one thing about this day and age."

He puts his hand in the small of her back and leads her down the street towards the door of The Grill while he tells us, "It's the one major complaint I have about the 21st Century, well that and how people today have lost faith through the years.  As such they have no clue who they should really fear, Silas for example.  Elena told me the night we made our truce that what the witches I've known through the years said would happen if he rose is biblical.  And while I realize what she said is, in fact, accurate, the problem is she doesn't believe the old stories and has no faith in their veracity, so she sees no problem risking raising Silas because she doesn't believe he'd really bring about hell on earth.  What she and most people in this day and age, with the possible exception of witches, seem to fail to remember is that all myth has some basis in reality.  Every culture has tales of vampires because we truly exist even though most people consider vampires to be nothing more than scary bedtime stories.  Yet the three of us all know without question that the myths are true.  Even if _all_ the old superstitions regarding us aren't accurate, we do still exist, and the major parts of the mythology _are,_ in fact, true.  What I tried to explain to her before she went back on her offer of a truce is that even if _all_ the stories of Silas are not accurate, the chances that _most_ of them are is too high to risk releasing him.  It's why I asked you to move all the professor's personal and professional items into one of the spare rooms in my house.  I went through his journals shortly after you moved everything and tried to narrow down where the tomb is.  I didn't have much luck.  Then the other day after you showed me your premonition I knew enough information to figure out where he was hidden.  I then made sure the information and Silas' tombstone reached a hunter who has no interest in The Cure other than for the purpose it was created for; to turn Silas mortal and then kill him.  I got word from a reliable contact while you were unconscious that the tomb was found, and Silas was fed The Cure and then ended."

My granddaughter has very wide eyes when she stops and turns and looks at him and then asks, "For real?"

He nods so she nods back but asks, "And how do you know they weren't just telling you what they know you wanted to hear?"

My friend smiles and tells her the same thing he told me, "That's a fair question and one that Sheila asked when I told her earlier.  I've known this line of witches for centuries, and they hold me in high esteem.  Chalina and her family were witches as was her future brother-in-law and, um, if you trace this line of witches back far enough you find Chalina's baby sister, Josefina.  They know I tried to save her sister and was devastated when I failed to prevent her death at Mikael's hand.  They discretely helped me in my search for a way to dagger Nik in the early 20th Century.  They warned me that the wrong people knew what Mary-Alice, Astrid and, I were doing with my other witch friends and that Nik knew what I was up to.  I disregarded their warnings and gave my brother the opportunity to trap Mary-Alice and Astrid in their house and then dagger me.  Our other friends were so scared of Nik that they immediately fell into line and began behaving how Nik wanted them to.  Anyhow, I trust Josefina's descendants more than most.  In fact, my siblings, you, and Jeremy, Sheila, and Caroline, to a slightly lesser degree, are the only ones I trust more than I trust them and that's fairly new."

When he starts us walking again, she smiles and asks, "So what you're saying is it's highly likely that Silas is no longer a threat?"

He nods before he pauses at the closed door and tells her, "So far as I know The Cure is no more as well because there was only one dose and Galen used it to kill Silas once and for all."

My grandbaby frowns before she tells us, "I'd tell Elena, but I doubt she'd believe us."

We both nod, and Kol opens the door of The Grill for us and tells her, "I agree she wouldn't even listen to what we have to say, but I wanted you to know, so you'll have one less thing to worry about."

She frowns and asks, "How do you know I was worried about that?"

Sliding his hand from the small of her back to her hip, he squeezes gently before smiling just as softly and telling her, "Hanging out with a family of vampires and vamp running aren't the only things you have in common with Bella Swan: You also talk in your sleep.  It sounded like you were having a nightmare last night about Elena unleashing Silas, and although I couldn't wake you up whispering that Silas was still hidden and we were all still safe seemed to calm you enough to have what I hope was a dreamless sleep after that."

Her eyes are wide, and her mouth is hanging open slightly before she frowns and asks, "Seriously, I talk in my sleep?  I thought it was just that once on the way back from the beach.  That… that has the potential to be very embarrassing."

Kol and I ignore Stefan Salvatore who has likely been listening to our entire conversation since we got out of the car and Kol squeezes my furiously blushing precious girl again before leading her to the bar to place her food order.  Kol leans his back against the bar while we wait for the Bartender to see to us and tells her, "Little Bella, I think the only things you would consider embarrassing are your private thoughts about me, and I think I already know full well how you feel about me _and_ how HOT you think I am so—"

She smacks his chest pretty hard causing the older man to let out a grunt before he laughs and rubs his chest telling her, "Careful of your new-found strength there, Little Bella, or you might hurt one of us without meaning to."

Her face falls, and her hand comes up to his chest before she asks, "Are you okay?  I didn't mean to—"

He grabs her hand and holds it against his chest over where his heart slowly beats and tells her honestly, "I'm fine.  It's not me you need to be mindful of.  I only mentioned it so that you know to keep an eye on it so that you don't accidentally hurt someone who doesn't have vampire healing, like Jer or your father."

She's still frowning before she asks, "You're sure you're okay?"

Smiling, he nods and tells her, "When we get home, you can inspect me as thoroughly as you like, and you'll see there isn't even a bruise though I won't try to stop you if you decide to kiss it and make it better."

She blushes and smacks his chest again although with much less force this time and tells him, "Could you possibly say that any louder?  I don't think the people in the corners heard you."

Kol and I both laugh when he opens his mouth as if to repeat himself louder, so she slaps her hand over his mouth and then turns to the bartender and gives him her order all while keeping her hand over Kol’s mouth.

He can't keep his laughter to himself and honestly neither can I, but he gets it under control enough to lick her hand, which causes her heartbeat to speed up despite the scowl she sends his way.  She slowly takes her hand away from his mouth and tells him as sternly as I imagine she can, "Behave, Sparkle Pants."

He groans while Stefan chuckles so Kol asks her, "You just had to call me that within earshot of The Ripper of Monterrey?"

She looks around the room until her eyes land on the much younger but infinitely more violent vampire in the corner booth.  Her eyes widen, and she says, "God, Kol, I'm sorry I didn't realize he was here.  I wouldn't have—"

He cuts her worried words off with a soft smile on his face, "No worries, Little Bella.  He knows full well that regardless of what you may call me I am perfectly capable of ending him in one of your heartbeats without even breaking a sweat.  He also should know that he stands no chance against me even if my girlfriend does insist on calling me 'Sparkle Pants.'"

She's still frowning, so Kol bumps her shoulder with his and tells her, "I mean it, Bonnie.  His knowledge of your nickname for me changes nothing between him and me or you and me for that matter, so don't worry your pretty little head about it, okay?   I'm not angry."

She reluctantly nods so Kol tells his order to the patiently waiting bartender and then turns to me and asks, "Sheila do you want anything?"

I pause and then grin and say, "I'd love one of their deluxe bacon burgers with curly fries."

The bartender nods and repeats my order and then looks directly at me and asks, "Anything to drink with that, Ma'am?"

I hide my surprise and tell him, "A large vanilla milkshake would be great."

My interaction with the bartender has caused all of our eyes to widen so when the man nods and then leaves to place our order I turn my wide eyes to Kol and ask, "He heard me and saw me.  How is that possible?"

Kol's eyes narrow while he thinks then he shrugs and says, "I'm not entirely sure, but technically we did two Waxing or Waning Moon spells on a Full Moon, so that might have inadvertently changed some of the results of the spells.  I heard you and Finn discussing Freya and her sudden disappearance at the completion of the spell so I'm inclined to think that the timing of when we did the spell has made several things happen differently than how they would have if we did the spells at the time the spells were designed to be cast."

My grandbaby frowns and asks him, "You're worried about Freya?"

He shrugs and says, "I'm sure she knows how to get in touch with us because I clearly recall her making a point to recall any family phone numbers as they were revealed while on The Otherside so that she could get in touch with us upon her waking.  The only reason I can think of that she would have vanished is if she woke early, so I'm going to give it a few days before I really start to get concerned, but there is a slight hum of worry in the back of my mind.  I keep praying that we didn't inadvertently hurt her or mess up her ability to wake but something is keeping me from truly worrying or panicking so I've decided to try to be patient and see what happens in the next few days."

My granddaughter and I both nod and we lapse into silence until Bonnie’s phone beeps at her.

She takes her phone out of her pocket and reads the message before showing Kol and me the text from Damon which says, "Why does my brother think Silas and The Cure are no more?"

I frown and tell my two companions, "Stefan really is very good at sticking his nose where it doesn't belong."

Kol sighs and nods before telling us both, "He really is.  Bonnie, you can tell him.  He may be the only one who can get through to Elena."

My baby girl frowns again and asks, "But how does Stefan even know?  We were more than 100 feet from the door of the bar when you told me about Silas being dead, and the door was closed at that."

Kol smiles and tells us, "He's old enough despite his diet making him weaker than most his age that he would be able to hear our conversation in the car as we drove by to find a parking spot never mind what we said while we walked to the door."

Her eyes widen before she asks, "Is Damon's hearing even better then because he doesn't eat animals?"

Kol nods before her eyes widen even more and she asks, "So he heard me call you Sparkle Pants last night, too, then?"

He chuckles and tells her, "Probably.  Like I said I'm not worried about it, especially with Damon because despite your history with him I can tell that he genuinely cares about what happens to you and your wellbeing, so he's not likely to try to make a big deal about it.  I mean don't get me wrong, he's a sarcastic ass at the best of times, but I don't mind if he busts my balls, as the saying goes, because I know he won't mean anything by it.  Plus, his fear of my family might actually be enough to keep him from saying anything about it."

Bonnie frowns and says, "Clearly you don't know Damon as well as you think you do.  His fear of your family will actually be more likely to cause him to lash out in any way he can if he feels threatened so…"

Kol smiles genuinely, "Even still it doesn't bother me in the grand scheme of things I just don't like Stefan and would prefer he know as little about you and me and specifically our relationship as possible."

My baby girl's phone beeps again, so she reads then giggles and shows us the message, "Tell Sparkle Pants to stop babbling and tell me why my brother thinks Silas is dead and The Cure is used up and lost forever."

Kol laughs and says out loud, "He's got to be outside because Stefan hasn't touched his phone while we've been talking.  To answer your question, Damon, a contact of mine that I may have given access to the Professor's personal journals contacted me earlier today to tell me that a hunter I've given information to through my contact before found the tomb and used The Cure as its creator intended.  Your brother knows the same way you heard our conversation just now because he listened in while we were walking from the car to the front door.  If I had known he was in here, I would have waited and told Bonnie when we got home."

Kol pauses then asks what I'm wondering, "If you're here, where is young Elena?"

Bonnie stands up straight when she and Kol, as well as Stefan, all hear him tell us, "She's at the store down a ways and across the street.  She should be far enough away that she can't hear given how short a time she's been a vampire, especially because she only had a little of my blood in her system when she died.  Even though her abilities should be on par with mine, I'm finding that they're not anywhere near mine.  Best guess is the fact the blood was injected instead of directly from the vein and was only a small amount possibly coupled with how long she waited to complete the transition has likely dulled her senses and abilities considerably because her abilities are nowhere near where they should be."

Stefan slams his fist on his table and says, "Is it really a good idea to be telling the enemy that Elena is weak?"

Damon chuckles and tells us all, "First, I'm not as convinced as I used to be that Kol is the enemy.  Don't get me wrong, I disagree with some of his actions in the past but most everybody disagrees with me, too, but that doesn't change that I usually did whatever for the greater good.  Second, _Brother_ , I was explaining to Bonnie, not Kol because if you think for a millisecond that Kol doesn't already know each and every single one of all of our weaknesses, then you clearly haven't been paying attention the way you should be."

Stefan frowns and asks, "But how can she hear you?  She's still human."

Kol standing beside Bonnie and me frowns and tells him, "That is none of your business because you've already made it clear you consider myself and Bonnie to be your enemies.  Just know that she's not as weak and helpless as you think and could easily wipe the floor with you if you try to harm her or those she cares about."

The Bambi eating vampire frowns and opens his mouth to argue, but Kol cuts him off, "Don't bother arguing because it will only show how foolish you are."

Damon laughs at that while the bartender brings our food to us.  Kol takes his wallet out of his pocket and pays the man.  When he takes back his change and puts a few dollars in the man's tip glass Stefan pouts and tell his brother, "It's not funny, Damon.  We need to know everything about them, and you know that."

Damon's laugh abruptly stops, and he asks, "What makes you think I don't already know everything I need to know?  Besides he's leaving town soon, so he shouldn't bother us for a few decades at least.  Plus, I think Bonnie, Caroline, and Jeremy will keep them all in line the next time we see them provided _you or Elena_ don't go and do something stupid.  God, how fucked up is it that _I'm_ the one saying this?"

Bonnie, Kol and I all laugh at that before my granddaughter smiles widely and tells him, "It's pretty funny if you ask me, but you're not giving yourself enough credit Damon.  You and Ric were the ones who always came up with the plans that saved the day.  You know when something needs doing and when it doesn't.  You and Stefan have just seemed to put you in this hopeless category that I'm beginning to realize never truly fit you, or at least not when your switch is in the on position."

Stefan is frowning while Damon says, "Thank you, for that, Bonnie."

She smiles even wider and tells him, "You're welcome, but it's true."

Stefan slams his hand on the table again and then gets up and drops some cash on the table before he walks out of the bar.  We all hear the secretly psycho man tell his brother, "You're not helping, Damon.  They're a threat, and you're not only looking the other way, but you're actually thanking her for being nice to you?"

Kol leads Bonnie and me out of The Grill a moment later in time to catch Damon’s shrug before he tells his brother, "You and Elena are the only ones who don't realize that A.) Bonnie saved _all_ of our lives with the truce she formed with Kol and his family.  B.) Bonnie, not to mention Jeremy and Caroline, are smart, and level-headed enough that they won't stand by idly if the Mikaelson's are truly a threat to any of us and yet the three of them are agreeing to move with them." 

He holds up his hand when his brother's mouth opens to argue and then tells Stefan, "Before you go accusing any of them of compelling them all, Bonnie _can't_ be compelled.  Plus, even you should know better than to think she would stand by and let any one of the Mikaelson's hurt any of us unless we attack them first.  And if we do attack first, then she’d be justified and absolutely right to let them protect themselves.  God, Stefan, can you please go back to being my level-headed, calm, sane, and smart brother?  I hate being like this, and all you're going to do is get the woman we both love dead if you keep egging her on."

At Stefan’s frown, Damon gives him a pointed look and tells him, "Yeah, I know you're the one who suggested she confront Bonnie about the Mikaelson's having their magick back.  She seriously hurt Bonnie, and they would totally be within their rights to take action against both of you.  Now because you're obviously still not hearing the words coming out of my mouth you should probably leave and be forewarned that I used The Sire Bond to keep Elena from listening to any more of your bullshit so tread carefully before you piss me off enough for me to let the Mikaelsons give you what you have coming."

Um Wow.  I'm honestly impressed that he would do such a thing.  Bonnie is right he loves Elena more than he loves himself because he had to know she wouldn't like or approve of his action, and he did it anyway because it will protect her. 

Kol takes the break in the conversation and catches Stefan's eyes before compelling him, "From this moment forward you will never lose control while feeding.  However, you will not feed from humans or drink human blood ever again unless you are injured, still in danger, _and_ there is absolutely no other option, and then you will only take enough to heal yourself.  Other than that, one exception you will only eat animals.  You will never try to harm or kill any of my siblings, me, Bonnie, Caroline, Jeremy, Damon, and Elena or anyone any of them are related to or anyone who is innocent or not a direct threat to you, Damon, Elena, Jeremy, Caroline, Bonnie, Myself, or any of my siblings.  You will always protect all of us to the best of your ability, and you will turn your switch on if it's not already on and then never turn it off again."

Kol pauses so Stefan can repeat everything back to him, and without breaking his gaze, Kol asks Bonnie, "Little Bella, did I miss any of the things you requested I compel him to do or not do?"

My baby girl frowns but starts wiggling her fingers as though she's ticking each thing off in her mind before she smiles and says, "I honestly think that's everything, but if you can compel him not to try to instigate any more, that'd be awesome, too."

Kol and I laugh at that, but he tells Stefan, "From this moment forward you will not try to instigate strife between anyone, and you will not conspire against or try to cause any sort of trouble for Bonnie, or anyone she considers her friend or family.  You also won't help or instigate anyone else trying to cause any of us any trouble either."

While Stefan repeats all of that back to Kol, Bonnie and I nod and so does Damon.  When Stefan finishes repeating the compulsion, Damon asks, "Should I be worried that you seem able to compel my brother?  And how is the very deceased Ms. Bennett standing here nodding at you?"

Kol shakes his head and tells him, "No.  Bonnie would disapprove if I abused that fact.  As for Grams, well, the short answer is we did a spell to make her ghost visible to us."

Damon nods but asks, "Okay and how is it that my brother's not taking Vervain like he swears he has been?"

Kol chuckles and tells him, "Back when he was spending time with my brother, Nik, compelled him to never eat, drink, or wear Vervain ever again.  And before you get worried none of us have abused that fact even before we became friends with Bonnie.  I swore to her, as have the other members of my family that we will not compel anyone she considers hers without first talking to her about it, so you're all safe."

Damon frowns but nods, so Kol man asks us, "Are we done compelling him?"

Bonnie and Damon both nod as do I, so Kol tells Stefan, “You will also not remember any of the compulsions I just placed on you, the fact that I compelled you at all, nor anything any of us have said within your hearing range about the spell that makes Sheila visible and corporeal."

When he finishes repeating the compulsion Damon stands up straight from where he was leaning against the building next door to The Grill before he says, "Heads up, Kol, Elena is headed our way, so you should probably get Bonnie and Ms. Bennett out of here lest we have a repeat of this afternoon."

Kol sees Elena, and thankfully she's coming from the opposite direction from where we need to go to get to the car, so he nods and then tells Damon, "Thank you, we'll let you know when we leave town, so you can stop worrying about your brother and Elena causing any trouble with us."

Damon nods, so Kol puts his hand back in the small of Bonnie's back and leads us towards our car.  When we reach it, we hear Elena ask, "Was that Bonnie and Kol?  God, what do they fucking want now?"

Damon's frown is apparent when he says, "They were just getting Bonnie some food and telling me that they'll let us know when they leave town."

Elena’s voice begins to fade when they walk away, but the three of us still hear her loud and clear when she says, "I can't wait until I don't have to deal with any of them anymore.  Good riddance I say."

Damon pauses his walking and looks at the girl he loves before he says, "God Elena, could you possibly stop being such a raging bitch.  Bonnie saved all our lives, and Kol was kind enough to undo the compulsions you wrongfully placed on your brother.  You also need to realize that you seriously hurt Bonnie today, and Kol would be well within his rights to end you for that, and he's not."

Kol and I turn and look at them in time to see her scowl before she grunts and says, "Whatever."

She goes and starts walking again, but Damon puts his hand on her arm and stops her before he tells her, "I'm serious, Elena, Bonnie is likely his mate that means any attack on her is an attack on him.  He could end you, and I wouldn't be able to do a damn thing about it except get myself killed, too.  And don't look at Stefan for help because Kol would end him even faster than he could end me.  You need to stop and think about the consequences of your actions, and God there I go again channeling the old reliable Stefan.  You both are giving me a damn headache with all this creepy role reversal."

Kol and I laugh lightly while Bonnie giggles before Kol pulls away from the curb and drives away from the three younger vampires.  We're still within range, so we hear when Damon says, "It's not fucking funny you asses so stop laughing."

Our laughter only gets stronger when Elena and Stefan both say, "Who's laughing?" confirming Kol's suspicions regarding both of their vampire abilities or rather their limitations.

Kol turns the corner, and we're out of their range too soon to hear Damon’s response, so Kol smiles at my granddaughter and tells her, "Well that was interesting.  Can we go home now and entertain ourselves before the others show up?"

My grandbaby giggles harder and just nods so he drives us toward his house, and I spend the ride trying to figure out what I can clean at the Mikaelson's home to keep from eavesdropping on Kol and Bonnie's future private activities.


	24. Any More Surprises

**______________________________________________________________________________**

**Chapter 024**

**Any More Surprises?**

**______________________________________________________________________________**

**Saturday, January 22, 2011, a little after 10 a.m.**

**Kol's Bedroom**

**______________________________________________________________________________**

I'm sitting in one of the leather chairs in the corner of Kol's bedroom while Bonnie comes fully awake because Kol runs his hand up and down her bare back.  She's lying on her stomach, and she blushes when she recalls what all they did when we got home. 

We all ate, of course, and chatted about New Orleans and further hypotheses regarding the spells they did the other night, but then I cleaned the entire downstairs while the two of them had multiple repeats of the afternoon's earlier activities.  I do know that they discovered that Bonnie’s maidenhead does, in fact, grow back once he pulls out and pretty quickly at that.  She didn’t even feel it happening, but she felt it when he broke through it yet again. 

He thought she'd think it was weird that he knows Rebekah's body does the same thing.  I can admit that at first, it did seem a little odd, but when he asked, "Who else would she have confided in?  She was terribly upset about it and in tears, and frankly, Elijah is too prim and proper for that conversation.  Nik would have hunted down whoever dared touch her and tear them limb from limb.  Finn would have just given her his patented disapproving stare before trying to lock her up so she couldn't do _that_ sort of thing ever again.  That means I was the only one she could come to," Bonnie and I both had to admit that he was probably right about all three of their brothers' potential responses to that information.

Kol chuckles bringing Bonnie out of her thoughts before he asks, "Hmm, what could possibly be causing that delicious smelling blush to cover your body.  Why don't you roll over and let me see how far down it goes?"

I just shake my head at him while my granddaughter giggles but buries her head into her pillow.  With her face still shoved into the pillow, she tells him, "It's a lucky thing I love you, or I'd have to hex you for being so… so… oh, I don't even know the word."

He laughs and tells her, "Lusty, perhaps, but I don't think that's cause for a hexing.  Still, I'm glad you love me so much, or I'd be in trouble."

She peeks out of the pillow and smiles before she tells him, "You totally would be."

Laughing again he grins when she leans over and kisses him good morning.  She frowns a moment later when her hand and body encounter his clothes covered body.  She pulls away and asks, "Why do you have clothes on?"

Kol, ever lascivious, laughs again before he asks, "Oh you want me naked, do you?"

Oh, she definitely does but she's not about to tell him that outright so instead she pouts and blushes while she tells him, "Maybe."

Smiling he tells her, "I'm afraid we don't have time for that."

She wonders, _'Wait, we don't?'_   Frowning she asks the obvious question, "Uh, why don't we have time?"

Leaning in and kissing her again he pulls away before he says, "Beks, Jer, Caroline and I are all done packing, so if you and the others agree we'll be heading out this morning."

My precious girl rolls over and pulls the sheet up to cover her chest before she sits up and frowning asks, "Really?"

He smiles wider and tells her, "No, I'm lying.  _Yes_ , really."

While she fully wakes up, her eyes travel around the room.  All the shelves are empty.  "How did you manage to pack everything so quickly?"

Still smiling, he says, "I woke up early and used vampire speed to get the job done.  Beks, on the other hand, busied herself, Caroline, Jeremy, Finn, Sheila, and Henri last night by packing all her things and all Jer's family's books.  Then they woke up early this morning and packed the things that Nik and Elijah asked her to pack for them and teleported them to New Orleans."

My granddaughter frowns and asks, "Why did you wake up so early?  Is everything okay?"

Leaning in, he kisses her a moment before he pulls back and says, "Everything is perfect.  I think I'm just excited about getting out of this God-forsaken town."

Giggling, she plays with the corner of the sheet she's clutching to her chest and tells him, "It's not God-forsaken."

Kol smiles again before saying, "Uh huh, if you say so.  Either way, I'm happy to be getting the hell out of here.  Because everyone who is here who is important to me is coming with me, there is nothing left for me here."

She thinks, _'Aw, what do you say to such sweet words?'_   She forgoes saying anything and instead leans in and kisses him.  He smiles into the kiss and then pulls away telling her, "As much as I would love to continue that thought I'm afraid I let you sleep as long as I could get away with.  I have it on good authority that you have 45 minutes to get your cute little arse downstairs and finish breakfast, so as loathe as I am to say this you need to go wash the scent of sex off of you."

She blushes deeper than before and closes her hazel eyes before she asks, "Beks and Caroline totally already know right?"

He nods but with a very satisfied smile on his face he says, "I believe Jeremy, Finn, and Henri also know because in case you've forgotten I've discovered you're a screamer when properly motivated."

I quietly chuckle while she covers her face and laughs silently thinking, _'Oh My God.'_    Without pulling her hands from her face, she asks, "How do I face them?"

Kol’s smile leaves his face before he asks, "Why do you sound ashamed?"

My grandbaby thinks, _'Shit!'_  

I suppose her silent laughing looked like crying because she covered her face, too, and he doesn't have the advantage I have of being able to hear her thoughts, so she looks at him and tells him, "That's not what I meant.  I just mean it's embarrassing."

His smile returns though not at full wattage before he says, "You do realize that The Linking Spell means you’re stuck with me forever, don't you?  Damon wasn't wrong when he said you're my mate.  To put that in terms your modern perspective might understand you're essentially my wife for eternity."

My flabbergasted girl stops at that and turns wide eyes towards him while she thinks, _'I'm his what?'_  "Uh, really?  I mean I knew when I agreed to the spell that it was for eternity, but I never thought of it in those terms."

He nods and says, "I know, and when you're good and ready, I plan to actually put a ring on your finger and give you an actual wedding, but I figured I should give you a heads up because everyone including my siblings now see you as officially a part of this family.  I will likely introduce you to certain people as my mate.  Not everyone mind you because I don't want to put a target on your back any more than you already will have one, but certain people will need to know that to harm you will incite my wrath in ways they know they don't want to experience."

I smile because though she is still incredibly insecure, she is stuck on one thing, "You actually want to marry me?"

Kol grins widely, and with sparkling eyes, he says, "Absolutely, in fact, now that we did The Linking Spell and you can't be taken from me actually having you as my legal wife and not just my mystical wife is the only other thing I need to be completely happy and satisfied."

She thinks, _'Um, Wow,'_ before she smiles kind of shyly and while looking up at him through her lashes tells him, "Well I'm not completely opposed to the idea.  Although, I do think we need to wait a little while or my dad will freak, not to mention Abby."

It's none of their business what my precious girl decides to do, but he ignores that part and leans in kissing her again before telling her, "I can wait as long as you need me to because you already did The Linking Spell with me.  Now I believe you have about 40 minutes to shower, dress, and eat, so you better hurry."

She thinks, _'Crap!'_   Then she hesitates to get out of bed, though.  Still blushing, she doesn't think she's confident enough to walk across his room buck naked, and she doesn't see her clothes anywhere nearby, though she does finally register that I'm in the room.  Still, she's shy so she does what any embarrassed woman would do in this situation.  She steals his bed sheet and wraps it around herself quickly before hopping out of bed and running to the bathroom, or she would have if she didn't trip on the end of the sheet and land with her face in his chest because, holy crap, he moves fast.  

He chuckles and tells her, "I've already seen every inch of you now, so there's no need to steal my sheet, though it does look particularly fetching on you." 

He leers at her and makes no move to let go of her though, so she laughs, too, and tells him, "Let me go, so I can shower and get dressed."

Chuckling that low chuckle that still sends shivers coursing down her spine, he says, "Walk instead of acting like you're running from me, and I think I could be convinced to let you go."

Looking at the ground and still furiously blushing she bites her lips and then tells him, "Sorry, I'm not running from you.  I just, well, I'm naked, and you're not and well—"

Tipping her chin up so he can look into her eyes he tells her, "I know you're not actually running _from_ me.  As for the reason you _were_ running, you have no reason to be embarrassed with me, but I think it will be some time before you'll get more used to being naked around me.  All I'm objecting to is you _actually_ running wearing a sheet that's twice as long as you are."

She giggles at that and nods telling him, "Okay, I'll walk."

He smiles and leans down kissing her.  He tries to pull away, but he seems to have created a monster, so my grandbaby wraps her arm not holding the sheet to her around his neck and holds on tight forcing him to continue the kiss. 

Laughing into the kiss, he doesn't try to pull away again.  She's really getting into it and wishing they had more time, but before she can try to convince him to take her back to bed, Rebekah bangs on the door and says, "That's enough of that you two.  Don't make me come in there and separate you.  Sheila, I thought you were going to make sure they behave?"

I laugh and tell her, "If they actually got back into bed I would have intervened.  As it stands, there's no harm letting them enjoy each other a little before she showers and gets dressed."

Bonnie groans and then laughs before the older girl huffs at my explanation and says, "I mean it, Bonnie, go shower, or I'm coming in there regardless of how little you're wearing."

My granddaughter pecks Kol on the lips and then turns towards the door and tells her friend, "That won't be necessary."

Kol laughs while I pick up a pile of clothes off the chair across from me and walk to the pair handing my grandbaby the stack of her clothes that I picked out for her from her overnight bag.  She smiles while she holds her clothes and the sheet to her chest with one hand and uses her other hand to pick up the ends of the sheet off the floor and then walks at a moderate pace into the bathroom where she closes the door.

Bonnie giggles when she hears Kol open the bedroom door and ask his sister, "Was there something else you need Ms. Cock-blocker?"

Rebekah giggles and tells him, "No but it's a 15-hour car ride, and I don't want to have to sleep in the car because you couldn't keep your clothes on long enough for her to get ready to leave.  Why don't you go downstairs and help Jeremy, Finn, and Henri make her breakfast?"

My granddaughter hears the door close, so she drops the sheet and turns on the shower before using the toilet, washing her hands, and then getting into the shower.  She wets her hair and then frowns when there is a knock on the bathroom door.  "I'm showering, Kol."

The door opens, and Rebekah laughs and says, "Well, I don't know about you, Care, but I've never been confused with my brother before."

Caroline giggles and says, "Can't say that it's ever happened to me before either."

Bonnie sticks her wet head out of the shower door and asks, "What do you want now, Rebekah?  As you can see I'm doing what you told me to do."

Rebekah chuckles and says, "God, your pout is almost as sad as Kol's is.  We're here for girl talk while you shower unless you want us asking you how last night was with Kol, Finn, Jeremy, and Henri in the room."

Bonnie blurts out, "God, no I don't want to talk about it with Finn, Jer, or Henri there.  In fact, ignoring the fact that Henri is stuck in the body of an 11-year-old, I'd prefer not to talk about it at all because I know damn well Kol can hear every word we say, and his head is big enough without my adding to his ego."

Rebekah grins and holds up a bundle of herbs, "Which is why I brought Sage."  A moment later she lights the herb and sets in into a marble bowl before she whispers The Silencing Spell then she says, "There, now he can't hear us either.  So how was it?"

Even through the glass of the shower, we can see that Bonnie is blushing deeply while she washes her hair and thinks back over all the sex she's had in the last 18 hours.  Still, she sighs and tells us, "Oh my God, your brother wasn't kidding when he told me he's so good at sex he should be paid to do it."

They laugh before Rebekah asks, "Wait, when did he say that?"

I laugh and tell her, "When they got coffee the morning after their truce."

Bonnie nods but asks, "You were there, Grams?"

Smiling I tell her, "I've been around for most things since I died but especially since you had your premonition."

The cheerleader nods again and says, "Oh," while the two blondes laugh, and Rebekah asks, "He actually told you that the first time you spent any amount of time together?"

Bonnie nods and says, "Uh huh."

Caroline asks, "Was the first time horrible when he, you know, broke through?"

Bonnie smiles and tells us, "None of what we did was horrible, though I am a little miffed that apparently, my hymen grows back every time he pulls out."

Caroline frowns and says, "God that sucks."

While Bonnie rinses her hair and then adds conditioner, Rebekah laughs and says, "She'll get used to it.  At least she won't have to compel her partner to forget that it kept growing back like I've had to do anytime I slept with a human more than once."

Bonnie laughs and says, "That's true.  And it didn't hurt that bad.  I mean I cried the first time, but it was just a single tear, and he was so sweet when he wiped it away and told me that he wouldn't move until I told him I was ready.  Actually, he said that every time, but it was particularly sweet the first time."

While Bonnie lets her conditioner sit in her hair for two minutes Caroline giggles and asks, "So, exactly how many times did you do it yesterday?"

My grandbaby smiles while she thinks back and tells us, "Hmm, four, no five times if you include the two times he woke me up to do it all over again."

They both laugh before Rebekah says, "No wonder you woke up after ten in the morning.  My brother wore you out."

Bonnie giggles, too, while she rinses the conditioner out of her hair and tells us, "He totally did."

She pours body wash onto her loofah and then lathers up before Rebekah asks, "But it was good?  You don't have any questions for the more experienced women in your life?"

Bonnie pauses and thinks about it for a minute then asks, "Well I wouldn't mind pointers on how to give a blow job before I do it.  And I'm confused why I liked it when his pressed his thumb against my um… I don't know a non-crude word for it."

Rebekah's smile is visible when she asks, "You mean your rosebud or your asshole."

Bonnie is blushing hard while she rinses the soap suds off and then quickly shaves her legs and underarms, but she says, "Um yes, I never knew that would feel so good.  I mean I know people have sex there, but I didn't realize it feels good for the girl.  I figured it was just something the girl puts up with to make her man happy."

Caroline is smiling widely when she says, "I know a few girls on the Cheer team who don't enjoy it, hate it actually, but I've always enjoyed it."

I tell her, "I never minded it."

My oh-so-innocent grandbaby sticks her head out of the shower and looks at me with wide eyes before asking, "Seriously, Grams?"

I just laugh and tell her, "I had needs, too."

Everyone laughs before Rebekah adds, "I enjoy it too, though it was harder to get a guy to do it back when I first began having sex.  It was far more taboo than it is now, and it's only been legal in most places, if it is yet, for under a century.  In fact, it's probably only been the last thirty or forty years if my research was accurate."

We all laugh, and Bonnie tells her, "You would research something like that."

The blonde giggles and tells us, "I was actually looking to see what the legal age of consent is here in Virginia currently.  I saw a link on the web page that talked about what types of sex are still illegal in certain places in the world.  It was actually quite interesting."

While Bonnie steps out of the shower and grabs her towel, she tells the older girl, "You would think that."

Rebekah smiles when she says, "Well, I needed to know what laws I was breaking, so I'd know when to compel the knowledge out of people."

Caroline grins while my granddaughter towels off and brings the topic back to Kol by asking, "So is he big?"

Bonnie giggles when Rebekah slaps at Caroline’s arm and says, "Eww, gross, that's my _brother_."

Bonnie decides to get a little payback and tells us all, "He is.  I actually think he's bigger than Elijah and Nik too, although I never saw them hard."

Caroline is laughing, mostly at the face Rebekah is making before the original asks in a pained voice, "I'm probably going to regret asking this, but how do you know how big all three of my surviving older brothers are?"

I laugh and tell her, "Her premonition.  We saw Elijah shower, and because he was in front of a bathroom mirror, we got an eye full.  Then we saw Niklaus change into a new outfit and his room here has a full-length mirror on the inside of the door of his closet, and because none of your brothers wear underwear, we got an eye full of him, too."

Bonnie nods and adds, "Believe me the only Mikaelson I wish I had seen naked is Kol.  Caroline will be pleased I think, though, when she finally spends some naked time with Nik."

The blonde in question laughs when Bonnie wiggles her eyebrows at her and Rebekah groans. 

Caroline smiles widely and tells us, "That's not going to happen, too, soon.  I need a commitment first.  I'm tired of just being a piece of ass.  I mean I loved Tyler, but I think he only saw me as a convenient piece of ass that he happened to be good friends with.  It's why I finally broke up with him.  Despite what he still thinks it had nothing to do with Klaus and everything to do with how he treated me when he wasn't fucking me.  He's an okay friend, but he sucks at the dating thing."

We all nod.  We already knew all of that.  Bonnie smiles though when she says, "I think you should make Nik work for it.  Make him prove he's worthy of you.  Then again if Kol is right then Nik is already thinking long-term with you, so he shouldn't have a problem making the effort to cherish you the way you deserve to be."

Rebekah nods while Bonnie pulls on her pants and the older girl tells us, "As big an arse as he can be I've never seen him interested in a woman the way he is with you Care.  Well, there was one he thought he was in love with back when we'd only been vampires for a brief time.  I accidentally turned her and then she abandoned him not too long afterward.  He was not fun to be around after that, but I can tell he genuinely loves you in ways he never loved her.  He's far more patient with you than he's ever been with anyone, me included, and you actually deserve to be loved the way he loves you, so this time should have a much happier ending if you let him win your heart the way he wants to.”

Rebekah grins and says, “I can't tell you how pleased he is that you agreed to come with us.  When I called to tell him, he asked what changed?  I told him that your two human best friends were coming with us, so you had no reason not to follow your heart and live in New Orleans and see where this might go between the two of you.  Needless to say, he was so happy I could practically hear him vibrating with excitement over the phone.  I know he's been working on getting the house ready for us, and I think he had already started making up a room for you, so I'm sure it'll be spectacular."

Caroline smiles but says nothing about Niklaus and her future relationship with him.  She does, however, ask, "So Bon, will you be having your own room, or will you be sharing with Kol?"

Bonnie pulls up short at that then says, "Um, we haven't discussed it.  I have a lot of things so maybe keep my stuff in one room and keep my clothes in his closet and obviously share his bed.  I'll have to ask to be sure, though."

Rebekah leans against the bathroom counter while Bonnie leans over the sink to put on her makeup before the blonde says, "I wager he'll want all of your stuff to be intermingled with his stuff.  He seems like that type of person even though he's never lived with a woman before."

I frown and ask, "Not even with Chalina?"

The older girl's eyes widen before she tells my grandbaby, "I didn't realize you finally knew they were together, but no they didn't live together.  Her father was an asshole and was making things difficult.  They secretly got married because her father refused to give his blessing.  I'm sure if Mikael hadn't also killed him that day he would have made sure his descendants thought very poorly of my brother, never mind that Felipe is the reason Mikael knew where to find us.  When he discovered that Kol and Chalina had secretly wed, he was so furious that he sought out Mikael to try to keep Kol from his daughter so really her father brought about his and his daughter's deaths all on his own without any help from Kol.  As it stands my brother still has a strong relationship with her sister's descendants.  They know he loved her with all his heart and that he not only risked himself to try to save her but was despondent after she died.”

Rebekah sighs and then says, “They also don't hold him responsible even though Mikael promised to let her live if Kol just helped him end Nik.  Chalina's sister made sure everyone in her line knew that if she had been in the same situation, she would have chosen her sister over her lover or husband every time because the bonds of siblings do and should outweigh every other relationship.  I mean a husband or a wife might get pretty close in terms of closeness and love, but it's a different kind of closeness and a quite different type of love.”

She shrugs and says, “Kol is the youngest surviving boy, or he was until we did that spell making Henri visible.  Anyway, Kol grew up with all our older brothers watching out for him, and we had been together for hundreds of years with only a few decades separation from him every now and then when he went out and explored the world on his own.  Don't tell Kol I said this because he needs to hear it from Nik and Elijah, but they both regret that they felt they had no choice but to dagger him after she died.  They knew Mikael would not hesitate to kill Kol if they left him behind like he begged them to,  So, they daggered him and carted him off to the ship that took us back to the New World because when it came down to it they'd rather he be pissed off at them and alive than happy with them and permanently dead."

Bonnie nods and tells us, "I know, I figured it out on my own from conversations I've had with all three of them, but I agree he needs to hear it from them, though I'm not sure either of them will ever get around to actually talking to him about it.  I'd try talking with them about it, but I realize it's not really my place to interfere in that way."

Rebekah shakes her head and says, "I heard him earlier, and he's right you're now officially a member of this family.  You're younger than all of us for sure, but you and your opinions hold the same weight as ours.  That doesn't mean we'll always listen to you and do what you want because I'm sure you realize by now that we're a family of stubborn bitches, but they'll take your opinion under advisement the same as they would for the rest of us.  Honestly, I think they might actually give your opinion greater consideration because you're basically a new set of eyes regarding old issues or situations that have yet to be resolved.”

She shrugs again, “Either way I'll support your decision on this matter, but after hearing you bitch Nik out after he tried to dagger Elijah this last time, I think he'd actually listen to what you have to say without blowing up all over you.  He respects you, which I'm sure you know is rare, but the fact remains he's let you get away with things he's only let the rest of us get away with even before you did The Linking Spell with Kol.  So, I'm sure he respects you in ways he hasn't respected anyone else who wasn't of blood relation to him.”

Bonnie tilts her head, so Rebekah grins and says, “You proved yourself that first day at the beach when you told him you were glad that you were wrong, and the spell worked for him too.  I know he was amazed when you said that you would have tried to help him get his wolf side back, too, if it wouldn't have involved Elena's death.  Like he told you that day we could all tell because of our advanced senses that you were 100% truthful.”

Bonnie nods slowly, so Rebekah says, “I don't think you realize just how incredible you are.  You took four spoiled, overly privileged, thousand-years-old predators who haven't had to even entertain the opinions of others if we didn't want to and made us not only respect you but love you.  Then you took it one step farther and made us all not only love you but consider you one of us.  I can't be clear enough when I say that none of us have ever agreed on who that should happen with before.  I mean obviously Kol wanted us to treat Chalina that way and I think given a little more time she would have won Nik over but all the other women and men we've been involved with not just romantically but platonically, too, never came close to getting us all to agree that they were one of us.  And like I said before there is an incredibly special bond between siblings, and I don't think you realize that it now applies to you as well.”

Rebekah grins and says, “I know you're an only child, but now you have five older brothers and at least one older sister in addition to Caroline and Jeremy.  For all intents and purposes, you are a Mikaelson even without the wedding I know Caroline and I are both looking forward to helping you plan.  So long story short, if you decide to broach the subject with either of our older brothers, I don't think anyone would get angry with you or at least not for any real length of time."

Rebekah pauses then smiles and says with conviction, "Always and Forever, Bonnie."

My grandbaby goes to ask her older friend the significance of that phrase because she hadn't realized it was a Mikaelson thing.  She thought it was just a Kol thing.  Now she knows she was wrong, but before she can ask there is a knock at the door. 

Bonnie is done applying her makeup, so she turns to face the door while the two blondes both shrug at the question on my granddaughter's face before Rebekah tells her, "The Sage means we can't hear outside of this room any more than someone else can hear us.  The only reason we heard the knock is because this side of the door is in the room we spelled."

Bonnie smiles and tells her, "I know that because I can't hear who it is either, but I was wondering if you have any guesses as to which boy it is."

Caroline giggles and says, "I smell Jer's aftershave, so my guess is it's Jer."

Rebekah takes a deep breath and then nods just before there is another knock.  She looks at Bonnie and asks, "Are we done here?"

Both girls and I nod, so she extinguishes the sage and then opens the door to find Jeremy smiling on the other side.

He grins wider when he spots the sage in her hand and asks, "Was Kol right?  Were you using Sage, so he couldn't hear you?"   When we nod, he laughs and says, "You missed him pouting.  I expect he'll give you all a hard time and point out that he was present for everything you four were probably chattering about."

Rebekah laughs and pats his shoulder while she walks past him and tells him, "We only briefly spoke about my brother's activities with Bonnie last night.  The rest was about how she's now a Mikaelson in every way that counts."

Still grinning, Jeremy nods and follows her out into Kol's room while the rest of us follow him. 

He smiles wider when he reaches the door and says, "Well, either way, Kol, Finn, Henri, and I finished Bonnie's breakfast, so if you want it to still be hot you should do less gossiping and hurry up and eat."

Bonnie laughs and asks him, "Ohh, what did you guys make me?"

While he walks down the hallway, he turns and walks backward so he can look at her and says, "Cinnamon and raisin French toast."

My baby girl smiles, "Oh Yum!"

When we walk into the kitchen, Kol is plating up the toast before he turns and holds the plate out towards Bonnie.  When she grabs hold of the plate, he pulls it back towards himself and leans in and kisses her sweetly before letting go of the plate.  He grins and says, "If it's horrible it's Jer's fault because he left Finn, Henri, and me, the vampire and two ghosts, with no modern cooking experience, down here by ourselves, so he could chit chat with you ladies."

When Bonnie sits down at the table, she smiles and with a slight blush still on her cheeks she flips over the first piece of toast and sees that it's perfectly browned.  Grinning, she tells him, "Well, it appears you managed not to burn them so it should be awesome because it's pretty hard to mess up French toast if you follow the recipe and don't burn them."

Jeremy sits beside her while Kol sits in front of her with his own plate. 

Jeremy smiles and tells her, "I used Klaus' printer in his office and three reams of paper to print off three copies of my mom and grandma's cookbooks.  I also scanned Sheriff Forbes' family cookbook that Caroline says has recipes from both sides of her family in it."

Caroline nods and while the newly mated pair eat she tells the Mikaelsons, "My grandmothers teamed up before my parents got married and made a big cookbook with all their recipes.  I guess they even went so far as to try out each other's recipes if they had them for the same thing and voted with help from my granddads and their friends on which one tasted better.  It was their wedding present to my parents."

Jeremy nods before he smiles and says, "The thing is huge.  I'm talking 500 pages easily, and the print is tiny.  Care is helping me transcribe it because her grandmothers' writing is hard to read, so I'm typing it up with her help, and then we'll print it out.  The only reason I scanned it instead of taking it with us is Sheriff Forbes was only willing to part with it for a day or two at a time, and it takes that long to decipher and then type out a single recipe."

Bonnie frowns and asks, "At a time?  How long have you been working on this?"

He looks at Caroline for a minute then says, "About 5 months I guess.  We'd already transcribed two-thirds of it when I lost my arms.  I only scanned the last third last night and this morning because we can't take the book with us."

I'm smiling, but I still ask, "What prompted this project?"

Caroline jumps in and tells me, "You've seen the book Grams, it's literally falling apart.  I mean it's 23 years old and has had food dropped all over it, so I asked Jer if we could scan it.  When he got a look at it, he suggested we scan it to preserve my grandparents' handwriting but type it out so that people other than me can understand what's written, too, in case I want to share it with someone else.  Beks says we can give the printed out copy to the cook that works at the new house, and she'll make whatever we want out of it.  We plan to give the cook the printed versions of the Gilbert and Sommers' books, too.  Fortunately, those were both typed out already, so just the scans are enough."

Bonnie nods and tells the siblings, "Grams, was the cook in my family.  She had ten cookbooks worth of recipes dating from as far back as just after my ancestors arrived in Salem so like 1627 or 1628 ish I think.  They're among the books we teleported to the new house yesterday because my dad is a frozen dinner kind of guy if I don't cook for him, so he really has no need for the books."

I nod and tell them, "They might actually be about a decade older than I originally thought if the ghost of one of our ancestors is to be believed."

Everyone nods and after that Kol and Bonnie focus on eating while the rest of us chit chat about nothing important.  When we're done, Bonnie gets up and rinses the dishes before putting them in the dishwasher and then putting the soap in it to run it.  We figure we can leave it full once they're clean, and we'll empty it the next time we visit.

Before they all go up to their rooms to put the few things not already in their bags into their luggage, Kol bites his wrist and feeds it to Jeremy after saying, "I apologize Jer for not giving you some last night."

He laughs and says, "No worries, I know you had more important things to worry about."

While Jeremy sucks his blood from his wrist, Kol smiles and says, "Don't doubt that you're important to everyone in this room right now.  I honestly meant to go give you some, but I fell asleep before I could get up.  When I woke up next, you were passed out.  I knew we likely had a long day ahead of us, so I wanted to let you sleep for as long as possible because I was fairly certain you'd be safe in your bed for the night."

When the wound heals, Jeremy pulls away, and Kol bites his wrist a second time, and they repeat the process.  They end up doing it three times total before Jeremy pulls away a final time and wipes his mouth with the napkin Rebekah hands him.  He balls it up when he's done and tells Kol, "I know I'm important to you all.  I just meant that I figured I was safe for the night, too."

Kol nods, and then everyone in our party who isn't a ghost goes up and finishes packing before we all meet in the foyer.  Rebekah looks ready to jump out of her skin, so my grandbaby laughs and asks, "Is all this excess energy because you're so excited to return to your hometown?"

She beams when Bonnie calls New Orleans her hometown, but she shakes her head and tells the two mates, "No I did something this morning, and I'm excited for you both to find out what I did.  I wasn't sure I could pull it off, but Care offered to let me do hers instead of yours and mine in case I destroyed it inadvertently."

My granddaughter is clueless about what she is talking about, but she's not done, so she says, "Once I did hers and realized I wasn't even tired, and Elijah assured me it arrived unscathed, I did yours and then mine too."

Okay, still clueless, so Bonnie asks, "Um, what exactly are you talking about?"

Rebekah laughs and opens the door before motioning for the pair to go outside.  When Bonnie gets out there, she pulls up short when she realizes her car is nowhere in sight.  Turning to look at Rebekah with wide eyes when she figures out what the vampire was talking about, she asks, "You managed to teleport not one but three cars from here to New Orleans all in one morning?"

Rebekah giggles again and nods before she tells us, "We figured it'd be more fun to all be in one car instead of us having to split up between four cars because Nik wants his SUV back.  This way we all ride in the SUV, and we can talk and keep each other company, and we also don't have to worry about any of us getting lost or separated from the rest of us.  Safety in numbers and all that rot."

Bonnie nods and then hugs her friend before telling her, "Thank you, Beks.  You're right this will be much more fun this way."

Rebekah smiles big and then goes back into the house and starts carrying out bags and putting them in the back of the SUV under the seats.   Kol helps and before we know it they're closing and locking the door of the house.

When Kol pulls my granddaughter into his arms, she feels something inside his coat pocket.  Opening his jacket, she looks, and her eyes widen when she realizes what she's looking at. 

She frowns and asks, "Why are you taking the White Oak Stake with you?  Wouldn't it be safer hidden away?"

He nods but says, "My siblings and I all agree that leaving it unattended in the same town as Stefan Salvatore is a colossally stupid move even if my compulsions on him should prevent him from trying to act against us.  If I temporarily die again, it could become an issue so even though I had it protected by multiple spells there is no guarantee that he wouldn't find a witch stupid enough to help him find it and get it out of the hiding place.  So, I'm bringing it and keeping it on me at all times until we arrive.  Then I'll hide it again and redo the protections I originally placed on it.  Right now, only a Mikaelson can touch it.  Due to The Linking Spell that should include you.  Anyway, only we can touch it because none of us are likely to try to use it on any of the others.”

She nods so he shrugs and says, “I'm leaving the daggers as a red herring of sorts because they won't hurt us anymore.  Although there is a spell on the hiding place to let me know if anyone finds it or tries to access it."

Bonnie closes his jacket back up before leaning up and kissing him.  Rebekah grumbles for a minute before she threatens, "If I have to go get a bucket of water and douse you two, I will."

Bonnie laughs, and after she pulls away from Kol's lips, she says, "That won't be necessary, Sister."

Rebekah beams and says, "Forgiven." 

She pauses and then nods to herself once before telling all of us, "Okay, so I figure the two of us who are alive, and the shortest should sit in the third row with Henri.  Then I'll sit in the second row with Finn and Sheila.  Kol and Jer can sit up front where they'll have the most legroom. Then we can switch out who's driving, and the tall person not driving can sit in the second row either with me or in place of me if I'm driving.  Because Henri is shorter than all of us, I figure he can go wherever the person who is driving was originally sitting."

That sounds like a plan, so we all nod and get in. 

Bonnie feels like she might bounce out of her skin she's practically vibrating with excitement.  When she looks over at Caroline sitting beside her, she can see that the blonde is trembling with excitement too.  They grab each other's hand and squeeze when we pull out of the driveway.  I have to admit I'm excited about this new chapter in all our lives, too.

I frown though when I hear in Bonnie's thoughts that she's texting her dad telling him, "We're leaving for New Orleans right now.  I'll text you when we arrive safe and sound.  Love you."

He texts back, "Okay, have fun and be safe.  Love you, too."

That just causes my frown to deepen.  Finn notices and leans closer to my ear and says, "Relax, Sheila, she's safe now, and he can never harm her again, at least not without this family making him pay a steep price."

I place my hand on his while it rests on his knee and tell him, "Thank you, Finn."

He smiles and nods, and I can admit, even if only to myself, that that smile does things to my insides.  Oh, dear, I think I'm in a bit of trouble now.

Smiling, Bonnie asks everyone, "Uh did anyone let Damon know we're leaving like we promised, or should I text him now?"

Kol smiles at the rear-view mirror before he tells her, "To my knowledge, no one but those of us in this car and Elijah and Nik actually knows we're leaving today."

My baby girl smiles back at him and says, "I just texted my dad, so he knows.  I'll text Damon now so he won't give us grief later over not telling him before we leave the city limits."

Everyone nods while she types out, "Damon, FYI, we're in the car leaving town now.  We'll be in touch if we decide to come back for any reason to give you a heads up so you can do damage control."

I'm surprised when a second later he texts her back because I figured he'd be busy doing whatever it is he does all day long.  His message reads, "Okay, drive safe.  Stay safe and keep me informed of any issues so I can keep Elena abreast of how her brother is doing."

I sincerely doubt the selfish brat will care what's going on with any of us including Jeremy, but Bonnie types back, "Okay.  C-ya around Damon.  You stay safe, too!"

He sends back a winking smiley face, so she puts her phone back into her pocket about the same time Caroline puts her phone into her pocket and tells us all, "I just told my mom.  Luckily, I had a chance to say goodbye in person last night after we boxed all my stuff because she wasn't there this morning when I went home briefly to return the cookbook after Jer and I finished scanning it."

I nod at her, and so does everyone else then I sit back while I listen to Kol and Jer discussing what CD's to put in the CD Changer.  Surprisingly, they seem to agree on the artists but not which albums, so they both argue that one is better than another. 

Rebekah gets fed up first and tells them, "The Changer holds ten CD's so choose five artists and then put the five CD's each of you thinks is the best into it and then leave it."

I laugh when Kol says, "Yes, Mother," at the same time Jeremy says, "Yes Mom."

Rebekah frowns and says with some bite in her voice, "You did not just compare me to Esther!"

It's Jeremy who puts out that fire when he tells her, "I never met the bitch, but I haven't heard a single good thing about her other than that she gave birth to some incredible children.  You're pretty on par with how awesome my mom was though and because I doubt Kol is stupid enough _or_ suicidal enough to compare you to the bitch that tried to kill all of you I suggest you take it as a comparison to _my_ mom because she was everything a mom should be."

The smile on Rebekah’s face is blinding when she tells the young man she thinks she's falling in love with, "Good save Jer.  Kol you owe him one."

Kol just laughs while we drive by the sign stating, 'Thank you for visiting Mystic Falls.  Please come again.'

We get onto I-66W, and at some point, Bonnie falls asleep.  I just sit and listen while the others all converse about their favorite things from when they last lived in New Orleans or the things they hope to see or experience.  I wish I could fall asleep, but alas ghosts don't sleep. 

I can't say I'm surprised that my granddaughter is sleeping soundly despite all the conversation going on around her given what she spent all night doing.  When she wakes up, she blushes at that same thought, which prompts Kol to say, "Little Bella, what has you blushing?  Naughty thoughts of me perhaps?" 

Her stomach flips when he says the word 'naughty' in his British accent.  It has a certain bite to it that does all sorts of crazy things to what she calls her 'girlie parts.'  She laughs though and tells him, "Maybe."

He strokes her cheek, so she opens her eyes surprised to see that we're parked at a gas pump.  He smiles while he kneels on the seat in front of her and says, "We're about halfway there.  You slept through the last pit stop.  Do you want anything from the store before we head out?"

She smiles and shakes her head but tells him, "No, but I need to use the restroom."

He nods and says, "Okay, better hurry because Beks is driving, and she seems to be in a hurry."

She laughs while she slides out of her seat and tells him, "Leave her be, Kol.  She's excited to be going home after all these years."

He pouts and says, "Take away all my fun, will you?"

Giggling, she gets out of the car.  When Bonnie gets back to the car, we both laugh at Henri coming out of the convenience store with a mound of goodies piled up in his arms.  He drops a bag of skittles and a bag of M & Ms, so Bonnie walks over to him and picks them up before taking a few things from his arms while she laughs and asks him, "Did you actually leave anything in the store, Henri?"

He chuckles and says, "Yes, Care was kind enough to point out the things I should avoid."

Giggling again, Bonnie looks at her blonde friend and asks, "Jerky?"

Caroline nods deeply, so Bonnie tells Henri, "She's a pretty good judge of that sort of thing."   Turning to look at the others my grandbaby asks, "Do we know yet if ghosts can get sugar highs?"

Jeremy chuckles while he puts his own stash of goodies into the front seat and tells her, "He bought and ate even more junk food at the first stop, so my guess is we all lucked out, and he's not capable of getting the stereotypical sugar high.  Honestly, I'm still amazed that he can eat it at all.  I mean, if he's a ghost then where is it going because he's already told me that he doesn't need to use the bathroom despite how much soda he's drunk today."

Kol laughs and says, "Based on what I know of The Otherside and ghosts, in general, I'd guess that the food is ending up on The Otherside as though his mouth is a portal to The Otherside.  The amazing part to me is that he can taste it and it actually tastes good to him.  I would have figured that it would either be tasteless or taste like dirt, but the mere fact that he can't get enough of human food tells me that it tastes amazing just as it does for the rest of us."

We all nod and while Rebekah stretches, Caroline offers, "Beks, you've been driving for over three hours.  Do you want me to take a turn?"

Rebekah stretches her back and then bends over at the waist before she says, "Sure, thanks."

When she gets into the middle row of seats in the SUV, I laugh when she tells Kol who is in the chair beside her, "Don't even think of bothering me or I'll stick you in the back with Bonnie and Henri and let you be all scrunched up for three or four hours."

He laughs and slides out of his seat to join Bonnie anyway.  He smiles at me and asks, "Sheila, do you mind sitting with my sister for this leg of the trip?"

I nod and get up while Henri giggles when I move into Kol's abandoned seat, and Kol sits in the middle of the bench despite his long legs.  Bonnie leans against him and quickly falls back to sleep listening to his heart slowly beat beneath her ear.

I close my eyes and just let my mind wander for most of this leg.  When my granddaughter wakes many hours later, she's still curled up against Kol's chest with his arm wrapped around her shoulder and his hand rubbing up and down her arm rhythmically. 

She almost wants to go back to sleep because she's surprisingly so wonderfully comfortable, but she hears him talking on the phone, "We're about 20 minutes away according to the GPS, so we should be there soon.  Okay, see you then."

He turns off his phone then pecks the side of her head with his lips before he asks her, "Do you feel okay, Bonnie?  It's not like you to sleep so much."

She nods and tells him, "I didn't feel sick, only tired.  I don't think I'll be sleeping much tonight, though."

Kol smiles and wiggles his eyebrows before he says, "Ooooh, something to look forward to then."

That reminds her, so she cautiously asks, "Um, am I sharing a room with you?  Like are our things going to be mixed together or will I have my own room and just sleep in your room?"

He looks down at her and asks, "I was planning to share a room and have our things all mixed, but if you want your own space, there is a spare room with your name on it, if you want it.  Which would you prefer, Bonnie?"

He's tense, and he used her first name, so we both know this is important to him, so my grandbaby smiles and tells him, "I prefer to share a room with you.  I mean if we're practically married then we should be in the same room."

His muscles relax, and he smiles before leaning down and kissing his mate sweetly.  They don't come up for air again until the car slows and turns into a long driveway.  I turn to look out the dark window and watch the trees that line the driveway until the big white house that's lit up like a Christmas tree comes into view, and my jaw falls to my chest.  It's even bigger and grander than the home in Mystic Falls, and I didn't think that was possible. 

Bonnie didn't think so either.  She knows from conversations with Elijah on the phone that it's an honest to God Plantation House that was once owned by the Governor of New Orleans.  Now it belongs to Elijah, and, Oh My God, it's gorgeous.

While Rebekah pulls up in front of the house and parks beside Bonnie's car, Elijah comes out onto the porch.  We get out slowly, and I stretch my muscles a bit which who knew ghosts could get crampy muscles? 

Bonnie does the same before walking up to Elijah and hugging him and then telling him, "It's good to see you, Elijah."

He awkwardly hugs her back, and she laughs when she pulls away and tells him, "Eventually, Care and I will have you loose and relaxed every time we hug you guys."

He chuckles and says, "If you say so, Bonnie." 

He turns and hugs his sister while he asks her, "How was the trip?"

She giggles and says, "Except for the arguing about which CD is better it was good." 

They pull apart, and Kol moves to shake his older brother's hand, and they give each other that manly half-hug I've seen other men do with each other.  When they pull apart, Elijah faces the rest of us and then his eyes widen, and his hand goes and covers his chest over where his heart slowly beats, "Henrik?  Finn?  Sheila?  How?  What?  Am I hallucinating?"

Henri smiles and says, "Yes, a spell, we're still ghosts, and no you are not hallucinating," then he runs and leaps at Elijah whose arms automatically come up to catch him.  While they hug, Henri whispers, "I've missed you so much 'Lijah."

The usually over composed original's eyes are suspiciously moist when he whispers into his brother's neck, "I've missed you as well."  Two minutes later they finally pull apart, and while Elijah straightens his tie and his jacket back into proper place he gives another manly half hug/half handshake to Finn, and then he asks, "How did this come about?"

Henri giggles and says, "Still so proper even more than a thousand years later.  God, I love you, Elijah."

His eyes are big and round at his brother’s proclamation, so Rebekah puts her arm around Elijah and tells him, "Did you know that before becoming a hunter Jer was actually a ghost whisperer?"

Elijah shakes his head, so she continues, "Well, he was, but then he became a hunter, and he lost the ability to see ghosts.  However, when Kol and Bonnie gave him back his arms he lost his 'hunter-ness,' and a short time after we finished the spell he began seeing ghosts again or more specifically four ghosts, our sister and two brothers and Bonnie's Grams.  Long story short, Henri remembered seeing two non-dark spells in one of Kol's grimoires that would make them not only visible to those of us included in the spell but also make them corporeal.  Anyway, we included Bonnie, Kol, Caroline, Jer, me, you, and Nik in the spell so we can see all three of them.  Now somehow, possibly because we did a Waxing or Waning Moon Spell on a Full Moon everyone can see all three ghosts.  Kol's planning to ask some of his witch friends here if they have any insight as to why the spell seems to include everyone instead of just those individuals who contributed hair to the spell.”

She shrugs and says, “So, although it apparently didn't work quite as planned everyone in our family can actually see them.  Now all the ghosts can touch anything they want as though they're alive, and FYI they can eat human food, too, and it tastes good so the cook will need to take that into account because Henri still eats as though he's a growing boy."

Elijah nods and then says, "Well the rooms are all soundproofed, so you'll probably have to explain all of this again to Niklaus after he's been reunited with Henrik and Finn."

We all nod so He looks at all of us and asks, "Any more surprises I need to be aware of?"

We all look at each other then slowly we all shake our heads, so he smiles and nods at us and then he says, "Well then, welcome to New Orleans and your new home."

**______________________________________________________________________________**

**The End**

**(Until the Sequel)**

**______________________________________________________________________________**


End file.
